Frozen Flame
by Tyson FoxFlame
Summary: [AU][Taito] After Yamato left, things just weren't the same in Taichi's world. People came, seasons changed, and time went on without him. He thought he was slowly starting to move on. Then his heart came back..and things just got harder.Sql to Black Rose
1. Arrival

_**Man's loneliness is but his fear of life.**_

_**-Eugene O'neill**_

_

* * *

So, how do I start this thing? Dear Journal? _

_Nah, that sounds dumb. How did I do this before? Neh, it doesn't matter, does it?_

_Today is August 1st. Kari said that it would be a good thing to write in my livejournal, just because I haven't been able to function properly enough to tell her verbally. So here I go, typing my soul into an online journal for any idiot to read. Pst, like they would. Now let's see…where to start…_

_Yamato hasn't returned my emails. At all. For the entire month of July, I haven't heard a single word from him. We were doing all right in June, sending emails back and forward, talking on MSN, any little thing that we could do to stay together. But now, that's stopped and it makes Tai sad. Yes, I just referred to myself in third person, gimme a break. I mean, why hasn't he tried contacting me? Does that mean that he's done with us? Done with me? Done with Japan? Oh my god, he can't be done yet! I'm not ready for him to be done yet!_

…

_Sorry for that minor freak-out. It was just a scary thought, that's all. What else can I report on? _

_Oh ya, my job at the pool's going well. Little kids cling to me a lot though. Not that I object; I love kids. But there are days that I'm really irritated by them. It's always "Taichi, help me with this" or "Tai, come play volleyball with us!" or "Tai I'm scared to go into the water!" _

_Yes, I understand that. Eh, I tolerate them though. Some of them are really cute kids and others are the kids from the elementary school's soccer team I used to help coach. What am I even saying? That's of no relevance! _

_Meh, my sister says I'm depressed. I don't really believe her though…just because I'm not as perky as she is, damn slut._

_Okay I apologize! Gah, I'm in a crappy mood right now, but that…_**Hikari is not a slut!**

_Wonder if Matt became a slut…_

…

_Nah. He's my slut and my slut only. Too bad we're an ocean apart. Hey, I'm a good swimmer…that's it, Yama, I'm coming to see you!_

…_it's official: I'm losing my mind. _

_So is Daisuke. He's still pretty much obsessing over Kiseki. He _**says**_ that he doesn't have a crush on him anymore, but sometimes I wonder. The stupid lying bastard still hasn't come to see him; he even stopped calling for a while. If he blows Dai off one more time, he'll have a promise from me to have a foot shoved up his ass._

_Ah, crap, I gotta go get ready for work anyway. Hah, like it matters to you people in cyberland. Hah. Hah hah hah._

_Forever yours, Tai teh Mad Ninja, dominator of men and women alike._

Tai had just shut down his computer when Daisuke barged into the room.

"Tai!" he shouted, bouncing across the room toward his brother.

"What?" Tai yawned, running a hand through his slightly-greasy hair.

"You have to come with me and Kari, now!" Daisuke demanded as he began to tug his brother out of the desk chair.

"Dai, I don't have time. I have to get to work," Tai began to protest. Daisuke shook his head and pointed at the clock.

"First of all, you don't have to leave for work for at **least** another half an hour," he stated.

"And your point is?" Tai stared at him blankly.

"Point is, look out the window!"

"Why?"

"Remember the old Kazaki place?"

"Daisuke, it's not that old," Tai replied as he walked around his desk and onto the balcony, looking out toward the right. Out in the street sat three moving trucks and a white fancy car sitting in the driveway. People were bustling around, moving things out of the trucks and into the house. "…who are they?" Tai asked, looking back at Daisuke.

"We don't know, that's why Kari and I wanna go over there and find out, but she said to bring you along, just in case you wanted to meet them."

"Why does Kari want to go over there so bad?" Tai raised his eyebrow and slowly came back into the house. The two boys headed out of the room and down the stairs on the hunt for their sister.

"She **says** it's because she wants to be nice, but I think it's because she saw that they have three boys over there," Daisuke snickered. He was soon smacked behind the head with a tennis shoe.

"That's not true, Daisuke. Besides, even if it was, shut up about it," Kari demanded and put her shoe on her foot, leading her brothers toward the front door. "Not to mention, I just think it'd be nice if we all met new people," she said innocently. Tai halted in his footsteps, being the only one to catch her double-meaning.

'_She's trying to set us up with new guys so we forget about the old ones! That little sneak, who does she think she's trying to trick?'_ Tai glanced at Kari who happily skipped out the door, Daisuke right on her heels.

'_Hmm…guess we can _**meet**_ them. Doesn't mean we're going to fall for them.'_ He nodded firmly and followed his two siblings outside, walking around to the house next door. The two younger Yagami-Motomiya siblings were already outside, engaging in conversation with a girl who looked to be about Kari's age. Tai walked up to them and stopped, listening to them talk. Kari looked back and smiled up at Tai, gesturing towards the petite girl in front of them.

"This is Candy Kyuusai. Candy, this is our older brother, Taichi," Kari made the introductions. Candy looked up with her large green eyes and smiled.

"Hey, Taichi," she greeted him, placing her hands on her hips to get a better look at him.

"Hey, Candy. Call me Tai, everybody else does," Tai replied. Candy nodded, twirling a lock of her dark purple not quite shoulder-length hair around her finger.

"Cool, hang on, I'll go find the boys to introduce to ya," she said before bouncing off into the house. Shouting was heard and the three siblings on the front porch shared suspicious glances.

"Um…she seems nice enough?" Tai commented, unsure of what else to say.

"I like her. She's already different than my other friends," Kari replied just as the front door opened again. This time, a tall boy with dark red hair joined them on the porch, his black bangs flopping into steel-colored eyes. Candy rejoined them and poked the boy in the shoulder.

"This is Skarlott, my older bro. He's almost 17. Skar, this is Tai, Kari, and Daisuke Yagami from next door."

"Actually, those two are Yagami, I'm Motomiya," Daisuke corrected her.

"Different parents?" Skarlott asked, leaning against a pillar that held up the porch.

"Same mom, different dads," Kari filled in. Tai didn't say anything at all as he examined Skarlott closely.

'_Nice build, clean hair, pretty eyes…but just not Yama.'_ The brunet inwardly sighed.

"It's cool to meet ya, Skarlott," he finally said aloud, just for the sake of speaking. Skarlott nodded at him and turned back to Candy.

"Where's EJ?" he asked his sister.

"I dunno," she replied with a shrug.

"Go find him! He's probably out back with Kee," Skarlott suggested. Candy nodded and ran around back to their backyard.

"So, where you guys from?" Tai questioned, sitting down on the porch and getting himself comfortable.

"Most recently Russia. Before that, England, and before that, New Zealand. My mom's in the military, so we move a lot. But since we took in my cousin, we decided to settle down. Plus I graduate this year, so I guess Mom and Dad decided it would be good for me to stay in one spot for my last year of high school," Skarlott explained, twirling a lock of his hair around his index finger.

"Wow, I wish we could travel that much," Kari said wistfully. Daisuke gave her a strange look and shook his head.

"Are you crazy, Hika? I wouldn't want to move that much," he said to his sister.

"The kid's right; it's fun for the first few times and then you get sick of it," Skarlott cut back in. Suddenly Candy came back dragging a younger skinny boy by the arm.

"Candy, let me go!" he protested, beating her on the back with his other hand.

"Blame Skar, he told me to come get you." Candy let go of her younger brother's arm. The boy rubbed it tenderly and glared at Skarlott with light brown eyes.

"Care to explain, oh brother of mine?" he asked, looking at the other three people on the porch. Skarlott pointed at them and introduced them.

"Tai, Kari, Daisuke. This is my brother, Envy Jade. He just turned 12, so forgive him if he acts like an idiot," he said with a smirk. The younger boy, Envy Jade, looked up indignantly and swept his long, mid-back length dark green hair over his shoulder. Looking at the Yagami-Motomiya siblings, he smiled and shook his head.

"It's just Jade," he corrected his brother.

"Or EJ," Candy filled in.

"But EJ is what you and Skarlott call me and it's retarded."

"Face it, Mom gave all of us stupid names."

"How is Candace a stupid name? Yours is probably the only one close to normal." Skarlott raised an eyebrow. Candy went silent for a moment, obviously thinking up an excuse.

"It just is, okay?" she huffed and blinked. "Where's Kiki?"

"Why do you call him Kiki, seriously? You know he hates that," Jade said with a roll of his eyes.

"Because I like it. But really, where is he?"

"Where is who?" a new voice questioned from the side of the house. Just then another boy vaulted himself up onto the porch and stood next to the Kyuusai clan.

"Kiseki!" Tai and Daisuke both shouted upon the realization that he was before them. The black-haired boy looked just as surprised.

"Tai? Daisuke? Hey! What are you guys doing here?" he asked them. Daisuke squeaked excitedly and tackled Kiseki, hugging him tightly.

"We live next door, but what are you doing here?" the mahogany-haired boy questioned back. Kiseki held Daisuke in his arms briefly before letting him go.

"Well, remember my plan? About moving out on my own?"

"You mean your retarded plan?" Tai raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of Kiseki's sudden appearance. Kiseki narrowed his eyes at the older brunet.

"It wasn't _that_ retarded. Either way, I didn't have to go through with it because my aunt legally adopted me," he answered, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly.

"Wait, wait ,wait; you already know these guys?" Skarlott asked, giving his younger cousin a skeptical look.

"Well, not the chick. The other two went to that academy I used to go to."

"Um, the chick has a name," Candy said.

"And it's Hikari. Kari, actually, but same thing," Kari took over. Kiseki nodded and grinned.

"Wow, this is ironic, now isn't it?" he commented.

"Just a bit. I'd rather have you and your sorry ass living next to us than some old perverted bastards," Tai replied.

"Oh my gosh, Tai, shut up," Kari scolded him. "Besides, aren't you going to be late for work?" she reminded him. The mud-eyed boy peered down at his watch and his eyes widened.

"Oh crap, yes! Um, it was nice meeting you guys, we'll catch up later. See ya!" Tai bade them goodbye and ran back to his house. Quickly grabbing his duffel bag off of his bed, he bolted down the stairs and out the door once more, running down the block towards the public pool.

* * *

Only arriving five minutes late, Tai took his post at the life guard stand, watching over the people in his section. 

'_Bored, bored, bored.'_ He yawned, staring straight out ahead of him. Out of nowhere, a beach ball flew up and hit him square in the face.

"Hey!" he squawked, looking around for his attacker. Staring down at the base of his post, he spotted a short redhead waiting for him

"Kou, did you have to hit me?" the brunet whined, climbing down the ladder to join his friend on the ground.

"Well, I tried calling your name, but your head was too far in the clouds," Koushiro replied, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. Tai nodded and leaned against his post, studying his fidgety friend.

"So, what's up?" he started the conversation, watching how Koushiro kept toying with his shirt.

"I-er, that is…can you-um..." the shorter boy stammered, unsure of where to begin. Tai rolled his eyes and reached out, pinching Koushiro on the arm. "Ow!" the other boy protested. Tai shook his head and grinned.

"You were rambling. Just spit it out already, I have to get up on my post again pretty soon," the brunet informed him. Koushiro nodded and continued.

"Okay, how do I go further with Mimi?" he blurted out. Tai raised both eyebrows at his friend's question.

"Excuse me?" he blinked, unsure if he had heard right. Judging by the fact that the tips of Koushiro's ears were beginning to blend with his hair, he assumed that he had heard correctly.

"Um…yeah. How do I go further?"

"Uh, **why** do you want to go further?"

"Because Mimi and I are at the point that we're bored with just kissing. I figured that you would have some advice since…yeah, you've had **how** many partners?"

"Just because I went through my slut phase…" Tai trailed off. Koushiro gave him a flat look.

"Went through? Tai, you're still going through your slut phase," he pointed out. Tai shot him an offended look and shook his head furiously.

"No! Didn't I tell you? This time I found one person to stay with!" Tai insisted. It was Koushiro's turn to raise his eyebrows.

"Really? When did this happen?"

"Um…I met him in October and we hooked up in February," Tai announced proudly.

"Wow…really?" Koushiro blinked in surprise.

"Yep. Well…I haven't seen him since like, the end of May, but I guess we're still dating…maybe…we got in some nice-looking neighbor boys…" Tai rambled on, getting off subject. "Oh, but they're not as perfect as Yama-chan."

"Yama-chan?" Koushiro repeated.

"That's his name, Yamato, actually…he's so special and pretty and perfect and lovable and fuckable and-"

"All right, I get it, shut up! How is any of that going to help me?" Koushiro asked, staring blankly at his older friend.

"It's not. I just thought I would share." Tai gave him a cheeky grin.

"…damn you're not helping. Give me advice or I'm getting you fired," Koushiro threatened, folding his arms over his chest

"What do you want me to say, Koush?"

"I don't know! Something on what I should do with Mimi!"

"Well…no, you're too young. No, you're never too young to do that…well, I mean if you're over 13 that is," Tai muttered to himself.

"That?" Koushiro tilted his head to the side.

"That…I mean, I did that when I was 13…well, the first time I did that anyway."

"…don't you think it's a little…odd to be doing that?" Koushiro felt himself blushing even more.

"Nah, it's pretty relaxing once you get the hang of it. Really fun if your partner's into it too," Tai informed him with a wink.

"Oh, uh…I don't know about that, Tai."

"Trust me, ask Mimi if she'll do it with you. See how far she wants to go," the mud-eyed boy urged him. Koushiro seemed to consider this for a moment, looking at Tai to see if he was serious. Slowly, the redhead nodded and a small grin spread over his face.

"Okay so, I guess what you're saying makes sense," he said cautiously, testing out his words. Tai nodded in agreement.

"Yep, you just have to ask her," he repeated his prior statement. Koushiro nodded confidently and grinned wider.

"Awesome, thanks, Tai! I'm going to go find her right now," he said, waving over his shoulder and running the opposite direction.

"Glad I could help! And no running near the pool!" Tai shouted after him, just to look as though he were doing his job. He climbed back up onto his post and sat still, watching over the people once more. A smug grin crossed his features and he shook his head, laughing slightly to himself.

'_Man, his first blowjob…he's gonna have fun with that.'_ Tai watched as his friend ran down the street, heading towards Mimi's house. He sighed at Koushiro's antics and rolled his eyes, going back to work and forgetting that the conversation even took place.

* * *

It was 10pm by the time Tai returned home from work. Closing the front door quietly, he kicked off his shoes and threw his duffel bag off to the side. He was dead-tired, and nothing was going to stop him from going upstairs and heading straight to bed. Or so he thought. 

He was at the top of the stairs when he first heard the noise.

'_Ah! I haven't heard anything that awful since the time Daisuke tried giving Miko a bath.'_ Tai winced and stopped walking, listening closely. Soon the noise came again, sounding better than the first time. It was then Tai realized that it was a tune. Someone was playing a guitar somewhere in the house.

"…wait, guitar?" Tai's eyes widened in realization and burst into his room, flipping on the light switch. There sat Candy on Tai's bed, tuning the guitar that was in her lap.

'_That bitch is going down.'_

"Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he shouted, tackling Candy off of the bed, leaving the guitar to lie there.

"I should be asking you the same!" Candy yelled back, bringing her arms up to defend herself as Tai whacked her with a pillow.

"Who the hell said you could touch that guitar? Huh? Who the **fuck** said you could touch it? And more importantly, what are you doing in **my** room and in **my** house?" Tai roared, continuing to beat her over the head with a pillow. Candy rolled her eyes and kicked Tai off of her.

"Look, Tex, Kari got a phone call and said I could just entertain myself. The door to your room was open, I saw the guitar, and I decided to play a few chords. No big deal, there's no damage done to it," she explained and showed Tai the instrument.

"There better not be any damage, that's not my guitar!"

"Who's is it?" Candy blinked at the enraged brunet.

"It's my boyfriend's and if you ever touch it again, I will rip off your non-existent testicles!" Candy's green eyes widened at the word 'boyfriend'.

"You're gay?"

"Bisexual, actually," Tai huffed, yanking the guitar out of Candy's grip. She suddenly grinned widely and squealed.

"Aw, that's so adorable! Man, I totally wish I was a gay guy…wanna trade me bodies?" she asked, seeming rather serious.

"Why the hell would I want to be a straight girl?"

"I don't know."

"Well, no, I'm happy having a dick and having them shoved up my ass too, thanks."

"Hah, thanks for the image," Candy laughed and sat down on the bed again.

"Hmm, whatever," Tai sighed and sat on the floor in front of her, clutching Matt's guitar protectively. It was the only piece of his lover that he still had left.

"So…do you know how to play? Or is it just your boyfriend?" Candy questioned, laying on her stomach and watching Tai hold onto the guitar.

"It's just the boyfriend. He said he was going to teach me how to play, but then he moved," Tai replied, albeit sadly as he gently stroked the guitar.

"Where'd he move to?"

"America."

"…that's pretty far away."

"No shit," Tai snorted. Candy sighed and looked at the ceiling.

"Okay, sorry, no need to get all snappy on my ass," she said. Tai stopped playing with the guitar and looked down at the floor, biting his lip thoughtfully.

"…yeah, I know. I'm not being very nice to ya, huh?"

"Nah, but that's okay. Kari already explained what was going on," Candy replied. Tai jerked his head up and looked at the strange girl on his bed.

"What **didn't** my sister tell you?"

"A few things. She just gave me the gist of things. Like, that you and Daisuke go to some school for the mental, that you had a hot boyfriend, that she had an adorable boyfriend that was the hot boyfriend's brother, that they both moved back to America, and that you're depressed since you miss the hot boyfriend," Candy listed off on her fingers. The brunet male shook his head and smirked.

"Yeah, that's about my life in a nutshell," he commented dryly. "And I'm not depressed," he added as an afterthought. Candy shrugged and watched Tai again.

"You really miss him, don't you?" she questioned half-rhetorically. She was rewarded with a lopsided grin.

"Can you really tell?"

"Just a bit."

"Yeah…he stopped answering my emails."

"Why?"

"I don't know…we were talking during June, but then in July, he kind of stopped," Tai explained.

"Maybe something just happened?" Candy suggested.

"Nah, if it was really serious, he would have found a way to tell me. I'm afraid to think that maybe he just doesn't like me anymore." Tai frowned slightly.

"Aw, don't think like that. I bet he just got tied up with some things. A lot happens in America."

"You've lived there?"

Candy shook her head. "Nah, used to live in Canada though and it's pretty much the same. Kind of. Point is, shit happens. I bet he hasn't given up on you yet though. I mean, if **you** miss him this much, you guys must have been close?"

"Well yeah, he was my best friend for about five months before we actually got together. We hit a bunch of rocky spots and we even put our friendship on hold for like, a month, but we managed to work things out. Man…he was just so…perfect…wait, why am I telling you this?" he abruptly stopped and shot Candy an accusing look. She returned it with her own innocent glance.

"Because you have nobody else to tell that you haven't already told."

"…damn you."

"Heh, yeah," she too stopped abruptly, looking at the guitar in Tai's lap. "I just got a brilliant beyond brilliant idea!" she exclaimed.

"Um…what would that be?" Tai asked her warily.

"I, Candace Kyuusai, am going to teach you, Taichi Yagami, to play the guitar!" she announced proudly.

"What for?" Tai shot back, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Be**cause**, it'll make you feel closer to your boyfriend, duh. Think about it. You learn his trade, you feel him. Or some stupid crap like that." Candy threw her hands in the air and looked at Tai. "So, you in, or you in?" Tai sat quietly for a minute, contemplating his options.

'_I suppose she's right though…and if Yama comes home, I can woo him with my skills! Yeah! I like that plan…and then he'll kiss me and say 'Oh, Tai, I never knew you were as good as I was' and then I can be like 'Baby, that's not all I'm good at.' Yes, it's perfect!'_ A goofy smile wormed its way onto Tai's face.

"Um…hello in there," Candy called out softly, bopping him on the head with a book and successfully bringing him out of his trance.

"Ow, yes! Yes, I'm in!" Tai said enthusiastically, images of Matt suddenly flooding his mind. Candy grinned and got off of Tai's bed.

"Perfect. We'll start on it tomorrow," she settled the deal and walked out his bedroom door. "Just come over to my house with the guitar when you're ready," she said over her shoulder before she disappeared into Kari's room. Tai nodded and stood up, sitting down on his bed and leaning the guitar against the side of it. Looking up at the ceiling, he sighed and shook his head.

'_Yama…'_ He closed his eyes and curled up with his pillow, shutting off the light next to him.

"Where are you?" he whispered into the dark before falling completely silent, just like the rest of the night.

* * *

The next morning, Tai found himself standing on the Kyuusai's front porch, Matt's guitar in his hand. He quickly punched in the doorbell before he lost all nerve and waited not-so-patiently for an answer. The door soon opened and Kiseki stood on the other side, dressed in a thin tank top and his boxers with an apple in his hand. 

"Isn't it a bit early for you to be awake?" the black-haired boy asked, swallowing the bit of apple in his mouth.

"It's one in the afternoon," Tai pointed out.

"Exactly." Kiseki nodded. Tai sighed and looked behind Kiseki into the house.

"Is Candy awake yet?"

"She is," Candy answered for herself, popping up from behind Kiseki. "Surprisingly."

"…whatever, I'm going. Is Daisuke home, Tai?" Kiseki asked the oldest Yagami.

"Uh…yeah, he is." Tai gave him a wary glance before Kiseki ran out of the house. The mud-eyed boy opened his mouth to call out to him but Candy shook her head.

"Let him go," she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Come on, let's go and get started." She led him inside and up the stairs, steering him into the first door on the left. They entered a medium-sized room with peachish-orange walls. The closets had no doors on them and seemed to be a chaotic mess. A pink lava lamp bubbled in a corner of the room, giving off an eerie glow.

"Hard to believe you've only been here for one day," he commented and sat at Candy's desk. The purple-haired girl nodded and reached into a corner of her room, picking up a black and white guitar, much like the black and blue one Tai held in his arms.

"This is Gee," Candy said.

"Gee?" Tai repeated, staring at her oddly.

"Gee." She nodded. "What's that one's name?"

"…I don't know? It's Yama's. I don't know what he named it."

"Pick a name."

"What for?"

"Because it's cool. Now do it!" Candy ordered, staring down at Tai.

"All right, all right, jeeze," he said, pushing Candy away from him. He studied his boyfriend's guitar intently, thinking of names as he ran his fingers along the strings.

"Otamay," he finally said. Candy raised an eyebrow.

"Otamay?"

"It's better than Gee, okay?"

"Not by much…what the hell is Otamay?"

"What the hell is Gee?" Tai shot back. Candy shifted her eyes back and forward and stroked Gee protectively.

"Gee is for Gerard. Gerard is for My Chemical Romance. My Chemical Romance is for my favorite band," she explained, looking down at Gee. "It's okay, Gee, it's okay. Nobody else will find us out, now will they?" Tai stared at her for a good long while, unsure of what to say. He settled for shaking his head and snorting.

"You're insane."

"Thanks! Anyway, what's Otamay?"

"…spell it backwards."

"Y-A-M-A-T-O…Yamato?" she blinked at him curiously.

"Yep, Yamato."

"Boyfriend?"

"Indeed."

"Hot. Anyway, I'm going to demonstrate a few things. You just sit and listen," she instructed him, pulling Gee into her lap and sitting on the bed. She started playing out a slow tune. The song itself was beautiful, although slightly depressing. Tai picked up on it right away.

"Stairway to Heaven, Zepplin," he said. Candy nodded and began to play another song, again starting out really slow and repetitive. It picked up a bit in the middle, but Tai was still clueless.

"I have no idea," he admitted. Candy grinned and nodded.

"Demolition Lovers. My Chemical Romance song," she said. "Can you read music at all?" she moved onto her next point. Suddenly she was interrupted by Kiseki, who had stuck his head into the doorway.

"I hate you both right now," he informed them, a frown planting itself on his face.

"Why?" Tai asked, shifting Otamay in his lap.

"Because neither of you told me that I wasn't wearing pants when I ran over to your house," he said, pointing down at his dark blue boxers.

"…hee," Candy giggled and shook her head.

"You're the one who ran out of here so fast," Tai reminded him. "Besides, I doubt my brother minded the view."

"Oh shut up," Kiseki growled and stormed away, slamming his door shut.

"Your cousin's a cranky little bastard," Tai commented, looking back at Candy.

"Yeah well, he has his reasons," she said and got up, walking over to her closet.

"What reasons?"

"Not important!" She threw several music sheets at the bewildered boy. "Now, we're going to be using tab, which is a shitload of a lot easier. I mean, theory's easy but it's pointless. Like…who had time to sit around and make up all of the rules and shit?" Candy rambled on. Tai waved his hand in front of her face and snapped her out of it.

"Hi, remember me?" he said. Candy smacked him on the head with the papers.

"Okay so, we're going to teach you a song that repeats itself for the most part. It's called 'Give Me Novacain'."

"By Green Day, right?"

"Yep. And even though Billie Joe's a retard and spelled novocain wrong, it's still a pretty nice song."

"He spelt novocain wrong?"

"With an A instead of an O," she said and handed Tai the right page. Taking Gee again, she held him up to demonstrate.

"Okay, so the strings are, in this order, high e, B, G, D, A, E. You follow what the music page says. Now, these stupid little slot-like things are frets. The numbers on the page are what fret you play the note in. For instance, the first note is D played in the fourth fret, see?"

"Uh, okay. Yes?"

"Do you, or do you not?"

"No, I do. Go on."

"Okay, so then, you continue the song. Read the fret numbers from left to right and play them that way. When there's a forward slash, that's a slide."

"And what do I do with that?" Tai blinked down at Otamay.

"You…slide your fingers. Anyway, are you ready to try it?"

"I guess," Tai replied and positioned Otamay on his lap, looking at the sheet of music in front of him. Slowly, he strummed the strings and followed the music, messing up right away.

"It sounds terrible!" he exclaimed. Candy looked down at his fingers and nodded.

"That's because you're not pressing down hard enough. When your fingers are in the frets, you have to press down really heard." She pushed down on his fingers. "Try that." Tai nodded and began playing again, this time satisfied with the sounds he was making.

"Sounds better."

"Of course it does. You have a pretty good teacher," she smirked.

"Oh hush it," Tai said and continued playing.

* * *

Tai left the Kyuusai household at around five that evening with two new songs under his belt, Otamay in one hand and an acoustic guitar in his other hand. Candy had said that he should practice his other song with that guitar. Lugging everything up the stairs, he opened the door to his room and threw everything inside, taking extra care to lay Matt's guitar down gently. He began to leave the room when something green on his bed caught his eye. Turning around again, he squeaked in surprise and his eyes widened. 

"What's going on?" he asked loudly, bringing attention upon himself. The two boys on the bed pulled away from their liplock, Kiseki's shirt unbuttoned and Daisuke not wearing a shirt at all. Daisuke gave his brother a lopsided grin and shrugged.

"I guess this makes up for you and Matt making out on my bed, now doesn't it?" he said airily, a small smile playing on his lips. Kiseki shared the same crooked smile and got off of Tai's bed, re-buttoning his shirt correctly. With one last kiss, the black-haired boy waved and walked out the door, not saying a word as he left the house. Tai stared at his carbon-copy, stunned for the moment by what he had just seen.

"Were you…but I thought…didn't you guys break up?" he managed to spit out, watching as his brother stretched out lazily and tugged on a shirt.

"Mmhmm."

"So…what was with the game of tonsil-hockey?"

"Hmm, just for old time's sake," Daisuke replied, his grin growing wider by the minute.

"You still like him, don't you?" Tai questioned, looking at his brother closely. Daisuke shrugged again and got off of Tai's bed, walking toward him.

"Maybe. I haven't decided yet," he said with a wink and walked past the taller boy, heading down the stairs for dinner. Tai shook his head and sighed loudly, heading out of his room and going into Kari's. The female Yagami was sitting at her desk, uploading pictures from her camera onto her computer. Sitting on the corner of her desk, Tai looked down at his sister and waited to be acknowledged.

"Hi, Tai," Kari greeted him, not bothering to look away from the monitor.

"…how long has Kiseki been with Daisuke in my room?" he asked. The brunette looked at her brother then, a quizzical eyebrow rising up.

"I don't know. Kiseki showed up here about 1:30ish. So I'm guessing that long." She shrugged and turned back to the computer. "Why do you ask?"

"They were making-out on my bed."

"…why?" Kari looked away from her computer again. Tai shook his head in response.

"I'm not sure. But, **that's** the one that used to go out with our little Suke-chan," he explained. Kari's eyes widened and she tilted her head.

"Really now."

"Mmhmm. That's the one."

"Does Daisuke still like him?" she asked, saving her files on her computer and standing up.

"He says no. Well actually now he's saying he's not sure. But I have my theories that he does," Tai stated confidently, following his sister out of her room and down the stairs.

"Well, it's not our business, is it?"

"No…but I'd like to keep him from being hurt, that's all," Tai replied. Kari smiled at him but shook her head.

"Tai, you know we love you right?" she asked him.

"Yes…"

"Then don't be offended when I say this: we don't always need you protecting us. Besides, there are going to be times that you can't protect us no matter what," Kari elaborated for him, entering the kitchen and grabbing a plate.

"Doesn't mean I can't try," Tai shot back, also grabbing a plate.

"Try what?" Daisuke joined the conversation, coming up behind them both.

"Never mind, Dais," both of his older siblings replied simultaneously.

"Man, I hate it when you guys don't tell me stuff." The cinnamon-eyed boy pouted. Kari laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Maybe we'll let you in on it later," she told him and grabbed her food, heading out for the den.

"Where're Mom and Michael?" Tai inquired, grabbing his own pizza and following her once again.

"Out to dinner, I guess. They'll be back later tonight."

"In other words, I claim the pint of ice cream in the freezer," Daisuke declared. Tai shook his head and swatted the younger boy with a pillow.

"Nah, you're sharing." He set the pillow down and took a bite of his dinner. Kari gave them both a sheepish grin and a giggle.

"Actually, neither of you are getting it. Candy and I finished it off last night."

"…damn." Both boys snapped their fingers. The three siblings turned on the TV and ate their dinner in silence, watching a sitcom that really wasn't that funny.

"Tai, change the channel," Kari said to him, taking a drink from her glass of water.

"To what?" Tai reached out and picked up the remote.

"Channel 12. I want to see if Friends is on."

"Aw man, I hate that show," Daisuke whined, finishing off his can of soda.

"That's because you don't get half of what they're talking about," Kari retaliated.

"No, it's just stupid."

"Oh both of you shut up," Tai snapped and settled the channel on Friends. Kari smiled and relaxed, watching the characters on the screen. Daisuke rolled his eyes and left the room, leaving Tai with Kari. Kari looked away from the TV and back at her brother.

"So, Candy said you're learning to play the guitar?"

"Yeah, she's teaching me," Tai informed her, picking at a loose thread on his jeans.

"How's it going?"

"Not that horrible actually, other than the fact that she's a psycho."

"She is not," Kari protested.

"Kari, she talks to her guitar," Tai replied, giving his sister a look of disbelief.

"Well…she's special. Whatever, she's still nice."

"I never said she wasn't nice. She's just kind of…strange."

"Whatever, Tai. So explain why you're learning to play to begin with."

"…mostly because of Matt." Tai looked away from Kari, staring down at his socks. He knew that his sister would soon sound more sympathetic toward him.

"Really?" she asked softly. "Aw, that's so romantic." Tai's head snapped up and he looked at his sister.

"How the hell is that romantic?" he questioned her, leaning back against the arm of the couch.

"Well, you're learning to do the thing he loves to do the most, besides you," Kari philosophized. Tai couldn't help but snicker at her word choice.

"He hasn't done me though," he said to her. Kari picked up a throw pillow and threw it at her brother's face.

"Shut up, you know what I'm saying," she shouted over his laughter.

"Yeah, I know. I just couldn't resist saying it."

"Sometimes, I hate you. I try being serious, and you make a joke out of everything!" Kari ranted, bashing her brother with the pillow some more. Tai took the pillow from her hands and sat on it, looking her in the eye. His expression had sobered up and his eyes had gotten darker.

"You know why I do that, Kar? Do you?"

"No…enlighten me," Kari challenged him. Tai looked down again and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"It's so that I don't have to really think about what's going on. It's easier to deal when you think of it all as a game."

"You think so, huh?" Kari asked him rhetorically, waiting to see what else he had to say.

"Yeah…that's about it."

"They'll come back some day, Tai," she assured him.

"We can only hope so," he replied, turning up the volume on the TV and signaling that that was the end of the conversation. Kari shook her head and returned her attention to the TV once more.

'_They'll be back all right…a lot sooner than he thinks.'_

* * *

There was a sound at his window. Not exactly a knock, but nothing that the wind could make either. Daisuke stirred in his bed and opened his eyes, blearily reading the clock. 

"It's 2:30am…" he said to himself. He rolled over in his bed and closed his eyes, preparing himself to fall asleep again. Just then, the knocking continued. Daisuke opened his eyes again and sat upright, cautiously looking at the window. There was nothing standing on the balcony, but that didn't mean that there wasn't something below, outside of the house. He watched the window closely, waiting for another sign.

Suddenly three or four pebbles hit the glass, creating the knocking sound Daisuke had heard. Half of him was set on going over and looking out the window. The other half of him was too chicken to get out of bed. So, he settled for the next best thing.

"Tai. Tai, wake up," he called quietly to his brother, looking over at the other bed. Tai slept on, oblivious to Daisuke's callings.

"Tai…get up, stupid!" Daisuke hissed, looking toward the window again. Again, Tai continued to sleep. Before Daisuke could call his name one more time, a giant rock came hurling at the window, shattering the bottom pane of the window. That woke Tai up.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked groggily, squinting at the broken window.

"I have no idea. I was hoping you'd find out," Daisuke answered staring at the rock on the floor. Tai got out of bed and stomped over to the window, picking up the rock and leaning out of the house.

"Go to hell!" he shouted and chucked the rock to the ground.

"Tai, Mom's gonna wake up and hear you!" Daisuke whispered frantically.

"Big deal, somebody woke me up, and now I'm pissed off." Tai frowned and looked down at the street.

"Damnit, did you have to throw it back!" a new voice rose up from the street. Tai growled and scanned the dark yard below him.

"You broke our window you good-for-nothing ass!"

"Tai, shut up and let me talk to Daisuke!" Daisuke's ears perked up at the sound of his name and he joined his brother at the window with a flashlight in his hand. Tai wouldn't let him take his spot and continued yelling down at the person.

"Kiseki, if that's you, I am going to kick your sorry a-"

"It's not Kiseki, Tai," Daisuke cut him off, flicking on the flashlight to confirm his suspicions. He looked down into the yard and he trained the light on a boy standing under their window. Daisuke pushed Tai aside and leaned out the window.

"Ken?" he shouted out uncertainly. The other boy looked up at him and grinned.

"Hey, Daisuke! Let me in, will ya?"

"…go to the front door, I'll be down in a second," Daisuke hollered back, walking away from the window and out of the room.

"Daisuke, what are you-" Tai followed him but was cut off by Daisuke.

"Tai, it's Ken! Do you not remember Ken?" he exclaimed, running down the stairs as quickly but quietly as possible. He was rewarded with a blank look.

"Should I remember?"

"Tai…Ken! My best friend before I went to the academy! Ken Ichijouji!" Daisuke reached the front door and hurriedly unlocked it.

"Uh…sure." Tai shrugged and stood by the stairs, watching as his brother flung the door open and turned on the foyer light. Standing on the porch was a boy with black hair, so black to the point it was almost blue and hung just past his ears. Violet eyes twinkled in the light and an easy-going smile was on his face. His clothes were torn and patched together in various places and he looked as though he hadn't had a bath in days.

"I'm sorry about the window," was the first thing he said. Daisuke shook his head and threw himself at Ken, hugging him tightly.

"Aw man, you reek," he laughed, pulling away from Ken to study him over. "What the hell are you doing here?" Daisuke questioned the 14-year-old boy. Ken shrugged and gestured to his backpack that was still on the porch.

"I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop in and see how it was going."

"Bullshit, Ichijouji," Tai said from his position on the stairs, standing up and walking toward the two younger teens.

"Hey, Tai," Ken greeted the older boy, bowing slightly in respect.

"I remember you now!" Tai said proudly.

"Now that you're awake enough to function?" Daisuke asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. But the point is, what are you really doing here, Ken? You live all the way over in Tamachi," Tai said, shifting his eyes back to the pale-skinned boy. Ken sighed deeply, knowing that he was busted.

"Can I shower before I explain? It's a really long story," he said, scuffing the toe of one of his worn-out sneakers along the carpet. Daisuke nodded enthusiastically and led Ken into the den.

"Yeah, sure, Mom and Dad won't hear the water running from down here," he said and looked at Tai questioningly. The older brunet yawned and blinked sleepily.

"I'm going back to bed. Ken, you're replacing my window soon," he said as a goodnight and headed back upstairs, going into his bedroom and climbing back into bed. The two younger boys shrugged and went the rest of the way into the den.

"Do you need some clothes to change in to?" Daisuke questioned, looking at his friend curiously.

"That'd be good. I'll leave the door unlocked and you can just set them on the counter?" Ken suggested, taking off his mud-stained t-shirt.

"Yeah, sure. Go for it," Daisuke said and raced back upstairs. Grabbing the nearest set of sleepwear, he headed back into the den and set the clothes in the bathroom. He jumped onto the couch and turned on the TV, switching it on to late-night anime. Twenty minutes passed by before the water shut off and Ken emerged, rubbing his hair dry with a towel.

"Feel better?" Daisuke looked at him over the back of the couch.

"You have no idea," Ken replied and joined his friend on the couch, looking at the TV as he continued drying his hair. The two boys sat in silence watching Cowboy Bebop for a few minutes before Daisuke turned, looking at Ken closely.

"You let your hair grow out," he started off. "It used to be as short as mine."

"Hah. I just got a haircut as soon as I got into town. You should have seen it before that," Ken laughed, setting the towel in his lap for the time being. Daisuke nodded and bit his lip, unsure of how to continue.

"So…what are you really doing here?" he asked, noticing that his friend was twitching slightly. Ken toyed with the towel in his lap, not looking up to meet Daisuke's eyes.

"You really want to know?" he replied quietly, still not looking up.

"Yeah…I do," Daisuke assured him, waiting patiently for his friend's story.

"To sum it up, I got tired of sleeping outside in cardboard boxes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Daisuke suddenly grew afraid of what he would hear next. Ken looked up and gave him a crooked little grin.

"I ran away," he simply stated, almost as calmly as if he had said "the weather's nice out today."

"Wait, what? You ran away? From home?" Daisuke stared at him in shock.

"Yep. Been on the run for the past two years." Ken nodded slowly. Daisuke continued staring at him in surprise.

"But…why?" he managed to say. It was then Ken chose to look at him.

"Because, I hated my life really. I have a few things I need to tell you, that I didn't get a chance to tell you before."

"Such as?"

"I'm gay," Ken announced flatly.

"…oh. Well I'm-" the mahogany-haired boy started to say that he was bisexual himself, but stopped himself at the last minute. "Not surprised," he finished off cheekily.

"Hey, shut up," Ken laughed and threw his wet towel at Daisuke. Daisuke laughed with him and threw the towel on the floor.

"Continue," he said to Ken, leaning against the arm of the couch. The blue-haired boy nodded and kept talking.

"I used to have a boyfriend. My parents caught me kissing that boyfriend and I mean seriously, it wasn't like deep making-out. It was just innocent fun, fluffy stuff. Needless to say, they definitely were not pleased with my choice of lifestyle. The boyfriend moved, so we 'broke up' (and I use that term lightly because honestly, we were 11 years old. Well, almost 12.). Anyway, then my parents decided that they were going to bog me down with school work and soccer and stuff, just so I wouldn't have time to be gay. I mean, they even sent me to summer school, just so I wouldn't have time to interact with other boys. In the end, I got so burnt out and fed-up with everything that I took my money from my shoebox, packed my bag, and took off running," he ended his tale, sitting back and waiting for Daisuke's reaction.

"…and they haven't found you yet?" the younger boy asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Nope. I keep moving too fast for them to catch up. I'm going to make sure that they learn their lesson before I return to them. But somehow, I have a feeling that they've given up on even trying to find me and just proclaimed me as dead." Ken shrugged.

"That's…insane." Daisuke shook his head sadly.

"Yeah…and that's why I'm leaving first thing in the morning," Ken announced, stretching out on the couch.

"Are you kidding?" Daisuke squawked, sitting upright suddenly. Ken gave him a confused look.

"Did you think I was going to stay?" he asked his best friend.

"I…well, yeah! I don't want you running again! You were a mess! I mean, look at you…when was the last time you've eaten something decent?" Daisuke raved on and on.

"Uh, I found a chocolate bar at the bottom of my bag a few days ago."

"That doesn't count! Ken, you are **not** leaving tomorrow and that's that!" Daisuke decided, folding his arms over his chest stubbornly. Ken chuckled and rolled his eyes, pulling Daisuke into an unexpected hug.

"I appreciate your efforts, not to mention your roof, for tonight. But tomorrow, I'm leaving and that's that."

"But…I don't want you to leave…what if something happens to you out there?" Daisuke voiced his concerns, feeling his eyes fill up with tears.

'_Don't cry, you idiot. Keep it cool. Don't cry in front of Ken or he'll…do something.'_ He scolded himself.

"Dai, nothing's going to happen, I promise."

"…will you at least wake me up before you go?" Daisuke whispered, subconsciously curling up closer to Ken. The older boy stroked Daisuke's hair lightly and nodded.

"Yeah, sure. But get some sleep, you're starting to talk nonsense," Ken smiled and shut off the TV.

"You're the one talking nonsense," Daisuke mumbled, involuntarily succumbing to sleep in Ken's hold.

"Good night, Dais," Ken said as a response and pulled a blanket over both of them, leaving them both to fall asleep with each other.

* * *

The sun peered in through the window and hit Daisuke's face. His nose twitched and he cracked open one eye. 

"Freakin' a it's bright." That was his first observation. His second observation was that he had woken up alone. Panic settling on his mind, he scrambled out of the blankets on the couch and raced up to the main floor of the house, crashing right into his brother.

"Whoa, slow down, kiddo. What's the rush?" Tai asked him, holding him still.

"Ken lied to me!" Daisuke blurted out, feeling tears prick at the back of his eyes again. Tai raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

"How so?" he inquired. Daisuke sniffled and blinked, trying to keep his bottom lip from trembling.

"He said he'd wake me before he left…and he's gone," he whimpered. Tai rolled his eyes and laughed slightly.

"Man, you jump to conclusions too easily."

"Huh?"

"Go look in the kitchen," Tai suggested and pushed Daisuke toward the mentioned room. Daisuke wandered into the eating space and looked around. There stood Ken at the stove, cooking breakfast for everyone.

"Morning, Dai. What kind of omelet do you want?" Ken looked over his shoulder and sent his best friend an impish grin.

"What are you doing here! I thought you said…" Daisuke trailed off, sitting at the counter and watching his friend flip eggs. "And ham and cheese is fine," he added as an afterthought.

"Well," Ken began, grabbing the ingredients for Daisuke's breakfast. "I thought about what you said last night."

"Did you really?" Daisuke gave his friend a doubtful look.

"…okay, so what really happened was that your mom found us on the couch and made me tell her the whole story. So now I have to stay here because she said to." Ken placed an omelet on a plate that had two others one it already. "Tai! Breakfast is done!"

"So wait, I tell you to stay and you say no, but my **mom** repeats the same thing and you say yes?" Daisuke blinked, watching as Ken began on his omelet.

"Basically, your mom can kick my ass; you can't."

"He's got a point, Dai," Tai chirped as he came back into the kitchen, grabbing his omelets and sitting next to his brother. "So how long are you staying, Ken?"

"I don't know yet…however long I can get away with, I suppose," the violet-eyed boy answered truthfully.

"Well, when it's our mom we're talking about, you'll probably end up staying here forever," Daisuke said, stealing a bite of Tai's bacon and cheese omelet.

"Again, he has a point. Get your own!" Tai cried, stabbing Daisuke in the hand with a fork.

"Ow, hey!"

"I didn't stab you **that** hard."

"Tai, be nice," Ken warned the older boy. He dished up Daisuke's omelet and handed it to the youngest boy, turning the stove off.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Daisuke asked, taking his food and beginning to eat.

"I've been up since six. I've already eaten. Twice." Ken pointed to a dirty plate and a box of Cocoa Puffs.

"Oh."

"So…yeah, you're living with us." Tai nodded.

"Pretty much yeah."

"Man, everybody's living in the same vicinity suddenly." Daisuke shook his head. "It's crazy."

"Oh?" Ken looked at him.

"Mmhmm, one of our friends, from the academy, he moved in next door with his cousins. And now you. So yeah."

"You'll have to introduce me to this friend of yours," Ken said as he began to clean up the kitchen.

"I will eventually."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Hey guys, does Kari know Ken's here yet?" Tai asked, putting his plate in the dishwasher.

"Yeah, she's the one who woke me up with her screaming about a hobo being on the couch with her brother." Ken smirked. "Funny, I didn't think I looked like a hobo anymore."

"Kari tends to exaggerate."

"Oh well."

"Well, we're just glad that you're here. At least, I am," Daisuke said, handing Ken his dirty plate.

"Yeah, I'm glad to be here. I get to play maid," Ken retorted jokingly.

"Does that mean you'll wear a cute little French maid outfit for me?" Tai winked.

"Oh shut up, Tai. Maybe on a special occasion, okay?"

"Deal!" Tai replied eagerly and began laughing. The other two laughed as well, imagining the mere idea. Daisuke looked at his best friend fondly and grinned to himself.

'_It's good to have you back, Ken. I just hope you stay.'_

* * *

A week passed by slowly, filled with busy days and lazy summer nights. The weather was sunny for the most part, allowing all of the Yagami-Motomiya kids, plus Ken, to spend as much time outside as possible. 

However, that all came to an end one Monday. It was cloudy outside, cool and a bit breezy. Tai still had to go to work at the pool, Kari still had a dance lesson, and Ken and Daisuke still played with Daisuke's soccer ball in the back yard. That is, until it started to rain. It rained all through the afternoon and continued raining past dinner into the night. Thankfully, Ami had already replaced the window Ken broke so that the rain didn't leak into the room. Despite the fact that Ken tried to offer her what little money he had left, Ami firmly said no and paid for the repairs herself.

But, that didn't explain why Tai was sitting out on the balcony, acoustic guitar in his hand and staring out at the night sky. The rain fell down around him, soaking him only slightly and barely entering the room itself, since he left the sliding glass door open. And yet, he didn't seem disturbed at all, watching the very few people below him hurry to their safe, dry homes.

Tai was one of those people whose moods were affected by the weather. He was never bothered by the snow; it made him rather childlike. The sunshine gave him lots of energy, making him the person he really was. But the rain; the rain depressed him, because the rain made him think. And when Taichi thought, he often thought about his problems.

"Like Matt. That stupid bastard still hasn't called or written or anything!" Tai sighed and strummed a few notes on Candy's acoustic. "I wonder if he even misses me…or anything…heh, I doubt it. I mean, it's America. What do **I **have that other Americans don't?" Tai looked out into the rain and subconsciously began playing a tune on his guitar. He recognized it as the song that Candy had given him a week ago. He picked up the tune and began singing softly to himself, if not for any other purpose but to comfort himself.

"Breathe in for luck, breathe in so deep, this air is blessed, you share with me. This night is wild, so calm and dull, these hearts they race, from self control. Your legs are smooth as they graze mine, we're doing fine, we're doing nothing at all." He quickly stroked a few notes and began to sing louder, not caring who heard him.

"My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me, so won't you kill me, so I die happy. My heart is yours to fill or burst, to break or bury, or wear as jewelry, whichever you prefer." His voice went a bit quieter again, returning to the same beginning notes.

"The words are hushed let's not get busted, just lay entwined here, undiscovered. Safe in here from all the stupid questions, 'hey did you get some?' Man that is so dumb. Stay quiet, stay near, stay close they can't hear…so we can get some." He smiled despite himself and went back to the chorus of the song, singing louder than before, being dragged in to the emotion of the song.

"My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me, so won't you kill me, so I die happy. My heart is yours to fill or burst, to break or bury, or wear as jewelry, whichever you prefer." He went on with his loud voice and same guitar strokes, looking up toward the sky. Tears pricked at the back of his eyes but he refused to let them go; not just yet.

"Hands down this is the best day I can ever remember, I'll always remember the sound of the stereo, the dim of the soft lights, the scent of your hair that you twirled in your fingers and the time on the clock when we realized it's so late and this walk that we shared together." Tai stopped briefly to catch his breath and bite his lip to keep from crying. Below him, shadows darted every which way, but he paid no attention to them, not even the one that didn't stop moving. He vaguely registered that his porch light flipped on, probably Kari checking to see where the music was coming from. He shook his head and started playing his guitar again and picked up where he left off.

"The streets were wet and the gate was locked so I jumped it, and let you in. And you stood at your door with your hands on my waist and you kissed me like you meant it." He heard a rustle from behind him, along with footsteps, but he didn't turn around. He just continued his song, tuning out the rest of the world to drown in the rain and his memories.

"And I knew, that you meant it, that you meant it, that you meant it, and I knew, that you meant it, that you meant it…" Tai strummed the last few notes out and stopped singing, clutching the guitar tightly. A silhouette appeared behind him and he felt a soft breeze on his neck.

"You bet I meant it," his voice breathed out and Tai turned around, taking in the most beautiful sight in the world.

Yamato Ishida with a dozen red roses.

* * *

Yep, here's the first chapter of Frozen Flame! I'm excited and I really hope you guys like it! 

Thanks to my lovely beta April. I love you!

And thanks to everybody who reviewed Black Rose. This one's for you!

Oh, and for neo of course. Go read Kukachi and Headfirst for Halos, okay? Okay, good.


	2. Past

_**Nostalgia is a seductive liar.**_

_**-George W. Ball**_

* * *

"W-what are you doing here?" Tai whispered, immediately ashamed of himself for speaking like that. Matt blinked at him momentarily before stepping further into the room. 

"Am I not supposed to be here?" he questioned back, shifting the roses in his hands nervously. Tai crawled back in through the glass door, re-entering his bedroom.

"Well I mean…to my knowledge, you were in New York. Last time I checked, this wasn't New York." Matt rolled his eyes at Tai's logic.

"You act so happy to see me," he said rather dryly, peering up at the brunet through his bangs. Tai blinked at him and suddenly came back to his senses, crossing the room in one giant leap and tackling Matt (and his flowers) to the floor.

"Yay, Yama's home!" he bellowed, entrapping the blond in a bone-crushing hug. However, Matt didn't try to push his boyfriend away; rather, he smiled up at the round tan face fondly and waited patiently. Tai slowly pulled away, sitting up to examine the blue-eyed boy. "You still didn't answer my question," he pointed out.

"What question?" Matt shot back, tilting his head in question.

"What are you doing here? Not that I'm not totally thrilled beyond the point of no return, but…" Tai trailed off, unsure of what else to say. In return, his blond boyfriend raised an aristocratic eyebrow.

"Didn't Kari tell you?" he finally asked.

"Obviously not," Tai muttered, already plotting revenge against his younger sister. Matt laughed quietly and grinned again.

"Well, here's what finally happened. Mom threatened to leave Dad again if he didn't move us back here right away, she still wants her job at the academy, you see. Naturally, Dad was like 'No don't leave me!' and so he busted his butt at work and kissed major ass to get his company to transfer him here. So here we are!" Matt declared cheerfully. It was Tai's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"They let him transfer? Just like that?"

"Well like I said, he kissed major ass. Plus he's been working for them for as long as I can remember so…" Matt stopped his train of thought and blinked. "Actually, I don't understand it either, but I also really don't care. Point is, we're back, I'm not leaving, and we're here to stay."

"Well that's a relief," Tai sighed and allowed his eyes to trail over the form of his boyfriend…or was he his ex? Tai wasn't even sure if they were dating any more due to the lack of any type of agreement.

Then again, he supposed it didn't really matter; he had Matt pinned beneath him and that was all that mattered.

…actually…there was more to it than that. Matt had changed. Instead of his hair being up and spiked like it used to be, the American boy had let it grow out so now it was longer, hanging down slightly. His eyes were more almond-shaped now and his facial features were more well-defined than they had previously been. He seemed to have grown another couple of inches, so now he was about even with Tai height-wise. Matt noticed that he was being checked out and smirked, poking Tai in the nose.

"Like what you see?"

"Of course…but wow you've changed," Tai whistled lowly. "I'm impressed." Matt gave off a light blush and didn't answer. Tai's eyes sparkled happily at the sight and continued looking over the other boy. His vision soon landed on the roses in Matt's hands. Matt followed his gaze and suddenly thrusted the flowers into Tai's hands.

"These are for you," he blurted out, his blush steadily growing darker. Tai stared at him for a moment before taking the roses and holding them gingerly. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the blond expectantly, waiting for some sort of explanation.

"Your sister suggested it, not me," he said hastily. Tai snorted and rolled his eyes.

'_Figures.'_ He thought and shrugged.

"Aww, so you weren't trying to sweep me off my feet?" he asked, pouting ever-so-slightly at his boyfriend. It was Matt's turn to roll his eyes at Tai's cheesy remark.

"Why bother when I've already got you under my thumb?" he returned with a sweet smile. Tai bopped him on the head lightly with the bouquet of roses but laughed anyway.

"You look exhausted…did you just get in?" he asked, studying the bags under his boyfriend's eyes. Matt nodded and attempted to stifle a yawn.

"Yeah, but I had to come see you right away. I didn't want you to…" he trailed off, stopping his sentence completely. Tai tilted his head and rested a hand on Matt's shoulder.

"You didn't want me to what?" he whispered, locking eyes with the other boy. Matt sighed quietly and shivered.

"I didn't want you to forget about me," he whispered back, leaning his head against Tai's shoulder. Tai's jaw fell agape just a bit before shaking his head furiously and pulling Matt closer to him.

"Yeah, because I'm **really** going to forget someone so special," he replied, albeit sarcastically. "If you recall correctly, **you're** the one who stopped emailing me."

"Yeah, exactly. That's why I didn't want you to forget about me," Matt retorted instantly, even though his reply was slightly muffled into Tai's shirt. Tai ran a hand through Matt's hair, smiling at how the blond locks were still as silky as he had remembered.

"Well then why'd you stop writing?"

"Computer went boom."

"…what?" Tai blinked in surprise, due to the fact that Matt's computer died and also due to the fact that Matt had just said boom. Matt removed his face from Tai's chest and looked at him again.

"My computer had major issues and spazzed out. Our internet went down for a few weeks and then the computer itself just stopped working all together and by the time it was up and running again, we had to pack it to bring with us here," he said rather calmly.

"Then how did you get a hold of my sister?" Tai questioned.

"Just for the record, long-distance phone calls are covered on a cell phone plan."

"…how'd you get her cell phone number?" Tai was certainly mind-boggled and slowly becoming confused beyond belief.

"Uh, hi? My brother and your sister dated for **how** long? He was bound to have it. So as soon as we learned we were coming back, TK called Kari." Matt laid his head in Tai's lap, looking up at him from his position.

"Why didn't you call and tell me!" Tai exclaimed, suddenly feeling unhappy about being out of the loop.

"You have to admit, it was a nice surprise," Matt pointed out.

"True…doesn't mean that you guys couldn't have given me a heads-up."

"Tai, if we gave you any clue at all, that would have ruined the entire point." Matt nodded to himself. Tai frowned in thought and continued stroking Matt's hair. Now that he thought about it, it all made sense.

'_They'll come back some day, Tai.'_ Kari's words echoed in his mind and he growled suddenly.

"Why didn't I see it before? Man, I'm such an idiot!" he shouted, causing his boyfriend to jump. Tai settled down and held Matt gently. "Oh well…you're here now…and that's all that matters, right?"

"That's the way I see it." Matt closed his eyes and purred contently. Tai nodded and smiled again.

"Seriously, you could have waited until tomorrow. You're practically falling asleep on me!" he teased the other boy. Matt cracked open one eye and shrugged.

"I figured that you were more important than something stupid like sleep," he replied, sitting up rather sluggishly.

"You're probably still jet-lagged," Tai pointed out and stood up, pulling the blond up with him. "Come on, I'll walk you home." He grabbed Matt's hand and began leading him out the door of his bedroom and down the stairs.

"Do you even know where I live?" Matt laughed to himself, allowing himself to be led down to the first floor and out the front door. The rain had let up to a light drizzle and Tai grabbed an umbrella as an afterthought, popping it open and holding it over their heads.

"Well no, but it can't be that far away from here if you walked, right?"

"Eh, four blocks away. Basically, I live down the street, around the corner, and down that street from here."

Tai nodded and began walking, still holding onto Matt's hand. "I can't believe you're back," he said quietly, looking over at the American boy.

"You know, I can't believe it either. It's almost too good to be true, y'know?" Matt agreed and continued looking forward. "But, if it's not true, then I guess we should enjoy it while we can right?"

"Right. But I think that it _is_ real."

"What makes you say that?"

"I dunno. Just because it's impossible for this **not** to be real," Tai rationalized. Matt nodded and laughed slightly.

"Do you realize how stupid we sound right now?" he said between giggles. Tai couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Like we're straight out of a cheesy black and white romance," he concurred, turning the corner and slowly let go of Matt's hand, draping an arm around the thin waist of his boyfriend. Matt shook his head amusedly and leaned into Tai's embrace.

"We're just a typical couple taking a typical walk on a typical rainy evening," he sighed softly, snickering under his breath.

"Well, we're not **that** typical," Tai pointed out.

"How do ya figure?"

"Two penises a typical couple does not make."

"…that doesn't count, Tai."

"Sure it does!" Tai grinned widely. Matt groaned and shook his head again.

"Well, you're definitely typical Tai. You haven't changed a bit."

"But don't you prefer it that way?"

"Yeah, probably," Matt agreed before stopping in front of a large iron gate. Reaching forward, he tried forcing the doors open, but they remained locked. "Oh you're kidding!" he cried, shaking the doors furiously.

"What's the matter?" Tai asked, holding the umbrella over Matt's head as he struggled to open the gate.

"It's locked," he said flatly, staring at Tai blankly. "Basically, I'm locked out of my own house."

"…how?"

"I don't know. The only way in is to unlock the doors with a key or from the inside, neither of which I can do." Matt kicked the gate doors and they rattled loudly, the sound echoing down the empty street. Tai frowned slightly and looked up at the fence, calculating something that only he would know. Suddenly he handed Matt the umbrella.

"Hold that," he instructed and jumped, latching onto the fence. Matt's eyes widened anxiously.

"Tai, what are you doing?" he hissed, watching as the tanned boy scaled the gate with ease, reaching the top in the blink of an eye.

"Just hold on," Tai replied and swung his leg over the top of the gate, squatting on his other foot in a crouching position. He sprang from the top of the gate and fell through the air, causing Matt to yelp in protest. The Japanese boy landed on all fours on the ground, looking around before standing up again.

"Are you insane!" Matt half-yelled, half-whispered. Tai shrugged and began to fiddle with the gate's lock.

"Didn't we already establish that fact?" he answered with a question, unlocking the gate and swinging it open. "C'mon." Matt stepped in through the gate and the two boys walked up to the front door, standing on the porch quietly. Tai then placed his hands on Matt's shoulders, leaving the blond to grab him by the waist to make the position less awkward.

"I really am glad you came to see me tonight," Tai spoke first, leaning his forehead against the blue-eyed boy's. Matt smiled shyly and nodded.

"So am I."

Tai bit his lip and looked off the porch to the grassy lawn. "So…" he started to say, trailing off to a halt. Matt tucked two fingers under Tai's chin and lifted his head, forcing him to look at him.

"So what?" he prodded. Tai batted Matt's hand away and held up his own head. Matt's hand trailed back down to Tai's waist and rested there, waiting for Tai to make the next move.

"Are we gonna try again?" the brunet blurted out. Matt blinked at the outburst and tilted his head to the side.

"Try what again?"

"You…me…us…" Tai's eyes never left Matt's, waiting for the inevitable answer that would make or break him. Matt remained quiet for a few moments, seemingly thinking it over.

Actually, he already had his answer; he just liked watching Tai sweat. The boy in front of him was flashing impressive puppy eyes at him and his bottom lip was threatening to jut out in a pout. Deciding that the sight was just too pathetically cute, Matt grinned and answered.

"Yes," he said before leaning forward, capturing Tai's lips with his own and kissing him like he meant it.

* * *

The doorbell to the Yagami-Motomiya house rang early the next morning, sometime around nine. Kari dropped the butter knife in her hand and set down her toast, leaving the kitchen and entering the foyer to answer the door. She opened it and smiled when she saw who was on the other side. 

"Hi Sora," she greeted the redhead, stepping aside to let the other girl into the house.

"Hey Kar. Where's your brother at?" Sora asked, walking into the house and shutting the door behind her.

"Probably upstairs sleeping still. After all, it's only nine in the morning," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You can go upstairs and find out though, it's not like you haven't been to this house before."

"Yeah, you've got a point. Guess I'll go up and check then," Sora said and headed for the stairs, waving to Kari over her shoulder.

"Oh hey, Sora? When you wake him up, can you tell him that I left for practice?" Kari called out as an afterthought.

"Yeah sure thing," Sora replied.

"Thanks!" Kari darted back into the kitchen, grabbing her toast and returning to the foyer to snatch her duffel bag and race out the door. Sora finished climbing up the stairs and reached Tai's door, not bothering to knock. Tai was her best friend since forever; so what if he slept naked on occasion? She just hoped that today wasn't one of those occasions. Reaching his bedside, Sora was relieved to see that not only was Tai actually under his covers, he was wearing pajamas. Sitting on the bed down by his feet, she reached out and shook his shoulder.

"Wakey wakey sleepy-head," she called out softly, snickering when Tai groaned and rolled over. She poked at him again curiously, watching as Tai shifted away from her. Face splitting into an evil grin, Sora started poking Tai repetitively, giggling quietly as Tai crawled closer to the wall to avoid her fingers. Suddenly a tanned hand flew out and snatched her fingers, gripping them tightly.

"If you keep poking me, I might have to bite off your entire hand," Tai's voice came out low and he sat up, glaring at his best female friend.

"God knows that you could fit the entire thing in your mouth. You've managed to fit everything else in there," Sora shot back, wrenching her fingers out of Tai's. A small blush loomed on the boy's cheeks for a moment and he buried his face into his pillow.

"What do you want?" he sniffed and refused to move, lying on his stomach on the bed.

"I wanted to see if you had any plans for today, only I came here and you were still sleeping. So Kari gave me permission to get your lazy ass out of bed. Oh by the way, she left for practice. Which brings up this: practice for what? Kari's never really been one for sports," Sora brought up. Tai yawned and sniffed again.

"Cheerleading. All of the sports start this next term, so they're making cuts for the new squad. Her and Mimi and Jun and a few of the other ones are trying out," he explained, his voice still muffled by the pillow. Sniffing a third time, he curled up under his blanket further. Sora gave the back of his head a concerned stare and scooted closer to him. She stared at his stilled form to see if he was going to pull a fast one; however, Tai still didn't move a muscle.

"Are you crying?" she finally asked, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Huh? No!" Tai protested and sneezed. Sora flipped him over so that he was now on his back, her staring down at him.

"Then what's your deal?" she questioned. Tai sniffed and wiped at his nose.

"I think I caught a cold from last night," he said, his mind slowly waking up and becoming less fuzzy. Suddenly a smile spread over his entire face and he sat upright.

"…uh…what happened last night?" Sora was suddenly more worried about Tai's mental health rather than his physical health. Tai's grin grew wider (if that was even possible) and without warning he pounced on Sora, pinning her to the bed instead.

"Matt's back!" he shouted with glee, snuggling up to Sora. Sora blinked a few times to make sure she had heard him correctly.

"He's back? When'd he get back?"

"Last night! He came here and I walked him home and I guess I forgot to grab a jacket, haha! Point is, Yama's here and that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside," Tai concluded with a lazy smile. Sora raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you drunk?" she questioned. Tai blinked and snapped out of his trance.

"Huh? No! Why the hell would you ask me that?" he snapped, pulling away from Sora.

"Because you're suddenly really happy. Granted, I like seeing you this happy, but honestly, it's all because of Matt?"

"Oh, you don't even know." Tai smiled knowingly and flipped onto his stomach again, propping his body up with his elbows.

"Care to share, Taichi dear?" the teenaged girl asked, rolling over onto her own stomach to face the brunet. Tai's smile turned shy suddenly and he looked down at his comforter, picking at a stray piece of string.

"I already told you," he mumbled, picking at random pieces of fuzz on his bedding. Sora shook her head and watched him.

"No…enlighten me."

"Why?"

"Because as your best friend since we were what, five?" Sora stopped her speech to think about what she was saying.

"Yes, since we were five," Tai confirmed. Sora nodded and continued.

"Because as your best friend since we were five, I do believe I have the right to know what my best Taichi is thinking, don't you?" she prodded, poking him in the arm.

"Didn't you learn your lesson about poking me already?"

"Tai! You're changing the subject!" Sora exclaimed. Tai rolled his eyes and laid flat on the bed.

"Well what do you want me to say, Sor?" he asked her, slowly becoming frustrated with the redhead.

"I want you to tell me why you're so happy. Plain and simple," she stated. Tai sighed deeply and rested his chin on his folded arms.

"Matt. Plain and simple," he mocked the brown-eyed girl.

"What about Matt?" Sora urged him to continue. Tai growled and slammed his hand down on the bed.

"Damn, Sora, I don't know! He just…damn," Tai sputtered over his words before quieting down and glaring at his best friend's elbow.

"You realize I'm not leaving until you figure out what you're trying to say, right?" Sora patted Tai's thatch of brown hair gently. His eyebrows furrowed together and he nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks," he replied.

"Anytime." The two teens sat in silence, one waiting patiently and the other struggling for words. Tai closed his eyes slightly and gnawed on his lip in concentration.

'_What makes me so happy about Matt other than the obvious? I mean, I love him and stuff…but there's something more. I just can't figure it out. It's weird though, I thought I had an idea; I think I lost it. Oh…**oh!** There it went. It's gone. Shit. Okay well, how about we do this. First thing that comes to mind comes out of mouth. Okay, one, two, three.'_

"It's fun to suck him off!" he exclaimed before he realized what he was saying. Sora's eyes widened and she stared at the brunet.

"What did you just say?" She stared at him long and hard. Tai felt his face grow hot under the intense gaze and laughed nervously.

"Uh, nothing?" he replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Sora's jaw dropped.

"Taichi you didn't!" she yelled, grabbing him by the shoulders suddenly.

"What?" he shouted in surprise, placing his own hands on Sora's shoulders to try and push her away.

"You corrupted him already?" she hissed, giving him an accusing glare.

"Wha-no!" Tai denied. Sora sent him another suspicious glance and waited. "...okay, so maybe. But it's not really corruption if he wanted it, right?" Tai rambled on, cowering under Sora's stare.

"...what exactly did you do to him?" Sora leaned against the wall behind the bed, letting go of her best friend's shoulders. Tai shrugged and looked at his hands that were resting in his lap.

"Just a blowjob, that's it! I swear on it!" he insisted. Sora folded her arms over her chest and watched as Tai tried to bury himself in his sheets.

"And how do you feel about that?" she asked him, biting at her pinky nail.

"Feel about what?" Two brown eyes peered out from under the covers.

"Everything that you just told me. What does that make you think?" Sora clarified, obviously wanting an answer right away. Tai remained silent and stayed under his bedding, thinking about what Sora was really asking. He didn't really have an answer, but he figured he could give it a shot.

"It makes me think…that Yama's not Haru," he said slowly.

"Tai…"

"No, seriously," Tai insisted, sitting up and pulling his covers off of his head. "I know I've been saying that for the longest time, but still! It finally clicks!"

"What clicks?" Sora tilted her head in question.

"Everything…" he said in awe. He shifted his position to lean his back against the wall and sat next to Sora. "When I'm with him, I feel something more than a physical attraction like I did with Haru. There's always been something else there; I just couldn't figure it out."

"Tai, I hate to interrupt you, but have you **ever** had a girlfriend?" Sora cut in. Tai stopped talking and raised an eyebrow.

"Where did that come from?" he questioned her, folding his arms over his abdomen and pulling the covers closer to him.

"Well, I mean, you claim yourself as bisexual," Sora said, playing with her fingers. "But have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"Actually, yeah."

"Who?" Sora's eyebrows raised in a surprised manner.

"Uh, you?" Tai rolled his eyes at Sora's lack of memory.

"That doesn't count!"

"Yeah it does!"

"Why?" she sighed. Tai sighed as well and looked at her closely.

"Despite popular belief, I really did like you at one point," he explained to her.

"Tai, we were kids. We weren't really old enough to know what we were getting ourselves into. We were what, 13?"

"Something like that," Tai mumbled to himself. "Point being, you were my first and last girlfriend. Be proud."

"Who was after me? Haru?"

"…I think so?" Tai shrugged. Sora bit her lip and snapped her fingers.

"Oh I remember now! It **was** Haru because you dumped me for him!" she exclaimed. Tai shrank back from her.

"Ugh, please don't remind me of that horrible, horrible experience," he groaned, leaning his head on Sora's shoulder.

"Hey, be lucky I was so easy-going about it. Most girls would have freaked out on you." Sora grinned down at him and pet his hair.

"Yeah, I know. Did I ever thank you for that?"

"Of course."

"Good. I still don't know why I even did it."

"Because Haru made you feel different. Love with a man is different than love with a woman. That's what makes it exciting. However, it's still love. Just remember that," Sora said pointedly, poking Tai in the nose. Wrinkling his nose, Tai nodded in reply.

"And while Haru made me feel different, now Yama makes me feel way different. I just don't understand it sometimes."

"What do you not understand about that?"

"Everything!" He rolled his head up and looked at Sora. "What's so different about Yama, Sor?" Sora smiled at Tai's sense of naïveté and giggled quietly.

"Think about this, Tai. Did you feel anything for any of the boys you've kissed or the girls you've eaten out?"

"…just Haru. Everybody else was just-"

"There to fill the empty void after Haru dumped you?"

"…well you could have said it nicer," Tai grumbled mostly to himself, sulking slightly.

"Sorry. Point being, isn't that what it was?" Sora questioned again. Tai nodded and dropped his head into Sora's lap, waiting for her to continue. "Well then, think about it. If they were just a distraction, is Matt just a distraction as well?"

"No way!" Tai denied instantly.

"Why?" Sora pressed on, knowing very well that Tai was going to lead himself to the right answer.

"Because I actually loved him before I touched him!"

"And? Didn't you love Haru before you touched him?"

"Sora, you already know the story."

"Remind me," Sora insisted, twirling a lock of Tai's hair around her finger. Tai sighed heavily and looked at the ceiling, keeping his head in Sora's lap.

"Well, I was already at the academy by then, remember? He was in the other science class that went on that stupid trip to the science museum. I had managed to get myself lost…and…things just happened…" he trailed off, letting the memories come to mind.

"_Stupid museum. Stupid science. Stupid school," Tai muttered to himself, scuffing his toe against the ground as he waited for the elevator. As a 13-year-old boy, he didn't find himself all that interested in the museum he was currently visiting. At some point, he had wandered away from his group and found himself at an entirely opposite end of the museum. The elevator doors opened and he stepped in, pressing a button and sitting in the corner. The elevator rose up and Tai waited. After all, it was a large museum._

_The doors opened again on another floor, allowing more people to enter and more buttons to be pressed. The lift continued shifting from floor to floor and Tai sat still in his corner, watching all of the people. Ten minutes passed and no one noticed. 20 minutes passed and no one noticed. 30 minutes were approaching fast and Tai was beginning to grow bored. He was once again by himself on the elevator and it was going down. It stopped on the fourth floor and a boy stepped in. He instantly recognized him as a boy from his group of people from the academy. Aquamarine eyes locked onto him and the older boy leaned against the opposite side of the elevator. _

"_You're Yagami Taichi, aren't you?" he asked, giving Tai a quick once-over. _

"_Uh, yeah," Tai replied, cringing at the squeak in his voice that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. The other boy tucked a lock of silver and black hair behind his ear and stared down at him._

"_Do you realize that everybody's looking for you? We're ready to leave and head back to the school," he informed the younger boy. Tai nodded and slowly stood up. _

"_Right…I just kind of…" he trailed off, unsure of what else to say. The older boy folded his arms over his chest and shook his head._

"_Yeah, I got bored too," he filled in, flashing Tai a smile. Tai felt something twitch in his stomach at that moment but chose to ignore it._

'_Blame the cafeteria food.' He thought to himself._

"_Glad to hear I'm not the only one…" he said. Suddenly the other boy stuck out a hand._

"_Call me Haru," he introduced himself. Tai reached out slowly and shook Haru's hand tentatively. Without warning, Haru jerked him forward, causing Tai to stumble into his arms. Tai looked up at him questioning and took notice of their position: his arms on Haru's shoulders and Haru's on his waist. A small blush fought its way to the top layer of Tai's skin and he grinned nervously._

"_Um…" was all he got to say before he felt an unfamiliar pair of lips cover his own. All train of thought stopped at that moment and Tai stayed frozen, numb to Haru's spontaneous kiss. Slowly, he found himself kissing back, scolding himself all the while._

'_This is bad. Think about Sora! What would she say if she knew you were pretty much cheating on her, with another boy no less! Then again, it's not really my fault; this guy started kissing me first.' He reassured himself, biting back a groan as Haru bit Tai's lower lip. The elevator came to a stop and Haru pulled away, smirking back at the tanned boy._

"_Well, Taichi, it was nice meeting you," he said airily and disappeared through the elevator doors. Tai stood still for a moment, letting it all sink in. In a trance-like state, he moved out of the elevator after him, ignoring the lecture that came from his science teacher about wandering off. The only thing he took notice of was the back of Haru's head as the older boy walked away from him, leaving behind a mystery._

"And then after that, you obsessed over him for a good part of the summer and we broke up. Yeah, I remember the rest of the story," Sora said to him.

"I did **not **obsess," Tai argued back.

"Wanna bet? Honestly, I swear I spent most of that summer listening to you 'Oh my gosh, what do you think it means?' and 'Is being bi really a bad thing?' Psh, things got even worse when you found out he lived here," Sora teased him, playing with his hair still.

"Oh come on, Sora, what did you expect? I learned something new about myself. And like you said, you're my best friend, so you have the right to know everything I'm thinking. At that moment, that's what I was thinking," Tai pointed out.

"Hmm. Then as soon as you guys started dating, I heard most of the details about that. I mean honestly, Tai, was it necessary to call me and say 'Sora, Haru just sucked me off…it was so crazy!'? I think not."

"Okay, that was different. I was 14, I was retarded! You know that."

"Still are."

"Watch it."

"Hee hee. But you know…there are some things that I'm glad you shared with me," Sora backtracked, looking up at the ceiling of Tai's bedroom.

"Like what?" Tai inquired, not moving from his spot.

"Well, when he dumped you but decided to stay friends with benefits is one thing. And also when he ra-"

"Stop!" Tai suddenly interrupted, sitting up and looking Sora in the eye. "We are **not **discussing that, all right?" he said, albeit harshly. Sora blinked in surprise at the sudden display of fury.

"All right, all right, we won't discuss it." She held up her hands defensively, just in case Tai decided to pounce on her. Instead, the brunet went limp again and his head resumed its position in Sora's lap.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I shouldn't be so defensive about it."

"No, it's fine. I'd be a little worried about you if you were nonchalant about it," she admitted. Tai shrugged and looked at his fingernails. "Have you even told Matt yet?"

"He just got back yesterday; of course I didn't tell him." Tai snorted at the mere idea.

"Why not? And I don't mean why not to not saying it yesterday; I mean why didn't you tell him at all?" Sora asked, looking out the window. The sunlight was streaming in through the blinds and the clock on the table under the window read 10am.

"Because I don't want him getting involved with it, that's why."

"Why?"

"Because I love him, okay? I know that's what you've been wanting to hear this entire time, so here it is: I love Yamato Ishida more than he's ever going to imagine and I love him for him, not what he can provide! There, are you happy now!" Tai exploded, panting angrily. Sora sat still briefly before nodding slowly.

"Passion," she said. Tai settled down and blinked.

"What about it?" he asked. Sora removed Tai's head from her lap and crawled off of the bed, standing in front of him patiently.

"That's what you feel for Matt. That's why he's different." She held out a hand. "C'mon, you said you'd come play tennis with me. I need some practice in." Tai nodded thoughtfully and took her hand, allowing himself to be dragged out of bed.

"Can you get out then so I can get dressed?" he asked, gesturing down to his pajama-clad body.

"Sure thing. Meet ya downstairs!" she informed him and bounced out of the room, closing the door behind her. Tai nodded again and opened up his closet, grabbing a clean shirt.

'_Maybe Sora's right. Passion…I had to work for Yama…he didn't come to me easily like Haru and the others…and he wasn't always there like Sora was. That made me stop and think if I really liked him. And I really do like him, but still…passion is just a powerful emotion for something isn't it? Maybe that passion's made up of love, admiration, adoration, happiness, and all of the other fuzzy things…hell, I don't know. Maybe I should just take her word for it. Yeah…that sounds good.'_ He shut down his thought process and got dressed, pulling on his shoes and running out of the room, leaving behind the conversation at hand.

* * *

"So what are we gonna do today?" Ken asked his companion as he rinsed his dishes in the kitchen sink. Daisuke shrugged and slurped the milk in his cereal bowl. 

"Dunno. It's your turn to pick," he remarked and got up from the table, dropping his bowl in the sink next to Ken's.

"Well that depends; do you feel like going out today or would you rather stay here?" Ken shot back, leaning against the counter and looking at his friend. The front door opened and closed in the front hall. Kari soon appeared in the kitchen with them, immediately opening the freezer and taking out a popsicle.

"Morning, guys. Did you just now wake up?" she greeted them in question, throwing the wrapper in the trash and biting off a piece of the orange treat.

"Mmh, like half an hour ago I think. Somewhere in that timeframe," Daisuke replied, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It now read that it was drawing close to noon. Kari nodded and sucked on her popsicle.

"Where's Tai?"

"He was already gone when we got up," Ken answered this time. "But if I do recall, he was going out with Sora today."

"Yeah, I kind of guessed. She was here earlier today." Kari nodded. Finishing off her popsicle in one large bite, she tossed out the stick and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "What are you two doing for the day?"

"Was that the last popsicle?" Daisuke changed the subject, glaring at his sister accusingly. Opening the freezer again, Kari poked her head inside and looked around.

"Why yes, yes it was," she concluded, shutting the door again. Daisuke whined and looked at Ken.

"I think I know what I want to do now," he said to his dark-haired friend.

"What?"

"Go into town, rent some movies, and buy some more popsicles since my sister ate the last one!" he exclaimed, glaring at Kari again. Kari rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Nu-uh, blame Tai! He goes through two or three a day!"

"Whatever, Kari, whatever."

"Yeah, whatever's right. Anyway, I'm sweaty and disgusting, so I'm going to take a shower and then go to TK's. Matt gave me their new address last night."

"Matt? TK?" Daisuke blinked at her owlishly. "They're back?"

"Didn't you hear the doorbell last night? Matt came over first thing and saw Tai," the brunet explained and let out a dreamy sigh. "Those two are so perfect for each other. Matt's so good to him…"

"So how come TK didn't come over to see you?" Daisuke asked her. Kari's face fell and she gave him a flat stare.

"Oh shut up," she said and turned on her heel, leaving the kitchen and jogging up the stairs. Daisuke shot Ken a wicked grin.

"I knew that'd make her leave. Anyway, do you like that plan?"

"Popsicles and movies?" Ken repeated the earlier suggestion.

"Yep." Daisuke nodded. Ken shrugged and nodded as well.

"You buying?"

"Why me?"

"I don't have any money."

"Why not?"

"…Dai…just stop." Ken placed a hand over his eyes. Daisuke opened his mouth to retort with a witty comeback but the doorbell interrupted him.

"Hold on," he said and dashed out into the foyer. Curiosity getting the best of him, Ken followed his best friend to the door. Daisuke didn't seem bothered by his additional shadow and flung open the door. On the other side stood Kiseki, hands in the pockets of his cargo jeans and black t-shirt clinging to him like a second skin.

"Hey Dais," he greeted the tanned boy.

"Hey Seki!" Daisuke grinned at him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Candy pretty much kicked me out of the house; she's not in a good mood."

"Why?"

"Your sister dragged her to cheerleading practice." Kiseki grimaced at the idea. Daisuke snickered in response.

"I'm going to guess that Candy's not the cheerleading type?"

"Dai, let's put it this way; **I'm** more of the cheerleading type than Candy is."

"…that's…"

"Shut up," Kiseki said before Daisuke could say anything else. Daisuke laughed and stepped aside.

"Come in then," he insisted, grabbing Kiseki's wrist and pulling him into the house. Kiseki didn't even stumble as he entered the house by force, kicking the door shut behind him. Daisuke turned suddenly and his eyes widened.

"Ooh, you have perfect timing!" he exclaimed. He turned to Ken and smiled. "This is that neighbor I was telling you about who was at the academy with us. Ken, this is Kiseki. Kiseki, this is Ken," Daisuke introduced them to one another. Both older boys looked at one another silently, examining each other calmly yet warily.

"…anyway, Kiseki, me and Ken were just gonna go out to grab some movies and junk. Wanna come?" Daisuke looked at his neighbor.

"Yeah, sure," Kiseki agreed.

"Awesome." Daisuke grinned at him. Just then, a loud scream was heard from upstairs.

"**Daisuke Motomiya, get up here!"** Kari hollered at the top of her lungs. Daisuke winced and gave his two friends a sheepish grin.

"Just stay here, this shouldn't take long," he told them and darted up the stairs, leaving the two boys to themselves. The two dark-haired pale-skinned boys watched one another still, not even daring to breathe. It was Kiseki who chose to speak first.

"See you haven't changed a bit, Ken," he said, smiling softly at the violet-eyed boy. Ken nodded and placed his hands on his hips.

"I would say the same thing about you, but you seem to have mold growing in your hair," he said, fingering a lock of green hair. Kiseki batted Ken's hand away, resulting in Ken sticking out his tongue.

"That doesn't seem to be a very Ichijouji-ish thing to do," Kiseki commented. "Although, I do remember that tongue quite well." Ken quickly brought his tongue back into his mouth and sent a small, yet friendly, glare Kiseki's way.

"I'm sure you do," he replied, leaning against the wall behind him. Tilting his head slightly, he regarded Kiseki thoughtfully. "So what have you been doing these past few years?"

"They sent me to the academy remember? Right after **your** parents busted us, the Niwas sent me off. The only reason I know Dai is because of that school, so maybe it's not such a bad thing," he said with a wink.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ken demanded, feeling all defenses rise up.

"What? So Daisuke and I had a little bit of fun. Big whoop, nothing you and I didn't do," the other boy reassured him. Ken raised an eyebrow at this.

"Daisuke…and you?" He stopped and blinked. "I don't believe it."

"And why not, Ken-chan?" Kiseki purred, sidling up to Ken and placing both hands on either side of his head, trapping him in place. He allowed his hands to trail down from the wall onto Ken's hips, stroking them lightly with his thumbs. Ken rolled his eyes and sighed.

"First of all, stop trying to molest me in his own house," he started off, pulling Kiseki's hands off of him.

"Ooh, so maybe you have changed," Kiseki commented but kept his hands to himself. "Okay, so what are your other points?"

"Daisuke's not gay. Duh," Ken replied.

"Bisexuality exists, Ken. He's following in Tai's footsteps whether he likes it or not," Kiseki explained. "He had a girlfriend for a really short period of time before we met. Anyway, we didn't last long, only about two months? If even that; so chill. If you want him, I'll back off." Ken stared at him blankly for a few moments before shaking his head.

"Wait, what?" Kiseki placed a hand on his hip and rolled his eyes.

"Please, Ken. It's so blatantly obvious that you've got a little thing for our favorite Suke-chan. Don't hurt yourself trying to hide it," he said amusedly.

"I don't have a crush on Daisuke, Kiseki…" Ken said slowly, not taking his eyes off of the eccentric boy in front of him.

"I'm serious man, don't lie."

"And I'm serious too, I'm not lying. He didn't even know I was about as straight as a circle until a week or so ago."

"Oh…well, I'm surprised he didn't tell you he was bi."

"Why would he? It's Daisuke; he likes keeping secrets. Trust me, I've known him for the past four or five years and I still don't know everything about him. I'll just let him tell me whenever he wants to."

"Sure, sure," Kiseki brushed it off, looking toward the stairs. "Hey…do you think we should tell him about us?" he asked quietly, looking back at Ken.

"What about us?" Ken asked, watching the stairs as well.

"What we used to be, our relationship, everything." Kiseki frowned and watched Ken's facial expressions. Much to his disappointment, Ken had a poker face that never changed at all. Glancing at Kiseki out of the corner of his eye, Ken shook his head no.

"Probably not…it might kill him a bit, don't you think? I mean, his best friend and his ex used to be a couple; what are the odds?"

"We're going to have to tell him at some point," Kiseki pointed out.

"And we will, at some point. Doesn't mean it has to be right now," Ken argued back. Kiseki opened his mouth to retaliate when Daisuke's voice floated down from the top of the stairs, yelling something back at Kari. Kiseki closed his mouth and leaned in toward Ken, putting his lips to the other boy's ear.

"We'll discuss this later but for now, it's agreed that we stay quiet," he whispered. Ken nodded and the two tried to look natural as Daisuke rejoined them.

"Sorry about that, Kari was throwing a fit because the bathroom was a mess," he apologized, looking back and forward at his two friends. "So, find something interesting to talk about?" he asked, grinning at them slyly as he opened the front door. The two dark-haired boys looked at each other and shook their heads.

"You have no idea," they said simultaneously as they followed Daisuke out of the house, shutting the door behind them.

* * *

Yamato stretched out his arms and sighed to himself, glancing around the room he was standing in. It was meant to be his new bedroom, but at the current moment, it just looked to be a disaster area. Clothes were strewn everywhere, unpacked boxes were piled up against the closet, and his bed wasn't even made up yet. With a heavy sigh, he threw himself down on the mattress dramatically. 

"Why couldn't somebody else unpack for me?" he groaned, sitting up again. It was far too stuffy in the room for him. He couldn't work under these conditions! Taking extra care not to step on any of his things, Matt made his way to the window and opened it, smiling as the summery breeze hit his cheeks. He stayed at the window for a few moments, looking down into the street and examining his new neighborhood.

_'Typical suburbia.'_ He thought to himself, taking in all of the fancy houses and perfectly cut lawns_. 'Funny, I didn't think there was room to create a suburb in Japan. Shows how much I know.'_ He shrugged and turned to go back to work. Suddenly a yell caught his attention.

"Matt! Open the gate!" Matt looked out the window again and down at the gate in front of the house. Tai stood on the other side, looking up at him impatiently. "Come on, lemme in," the brunet whined again. Matt grinned down at him and leaned out the window.

"Wait a minute!" he shouted and closed the window, running (or at least trying to) out of his room and shutting the door behind him.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going out with Tai!" he shouted over his shoulder as he thundered down the stairs, slipping on some flipflops and flinging open the front door.

"Matt, did you finish your room?" Natsuko called after him from somewhere in the kitchen.

"I will later, bye!" he replied and slammed the door shut, jogging toward the gate and his boyfriend. Opening the wrought-iron gates, he joined Tai on the sidewalk and shut the gate.

"Just for the record, the gates are unlocked during the day," he said to the mud-eyed boy, grinning cheekily at him. Tai rolled his eyes and pulled Matt closer to him, placing a sloppy kiss on his lips.

"Good morning to you too," he greeted the blond, letting go of him and wiping away a bead of sweat that was traveling down his forehead. Matt looked back at the house nervously and glared at Tai.

"Tai, not in front of the house," he muttered, grabbing the brunet's hand and leading him further down the street.

"Why?" Tai questioned, following Matt's lead without question.

"...you still haven't told your dad?"

"Tai, how can I? What am I going to do, 'Hey Dad, just for the record, I'm gay and dating my best friend'? I think not." Matt scowled and stopped on the corner of the street.

"All right, I get it. Anyway, what were you doing a few minutes ago? You smell all dusty," Tai commented, coughing slightly to prove a point.

"Well you smell all sweaty," Matt retaliated.

"For your information, I was playing tennis with Sora this morning. She wanted a partner and I'm the only one who's home and knows how to play," the Japanese boy defended himself.

"You play tennis?" Matt raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yes...anyway, back to my question. What were you doing?" Tai questioned him again.

"Unpacking. It's a pain in the ass, trust me," Matt groaned again just at the thought. Tai nodded and shrugged.

"Well, if you want, I can help you later on today. I don't have anything better to do besides you," he said with a wink. Matt rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Same old Tai. Anyway, what did you drag me out here for?"

"I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out with me for a while."

"Why?"

"Do I really need a reason why, Yama? You're my beautiful beloved boyfriend," Tai proclaimed with a well-defined pout.

"Aww, that's so...wait. You want something, don't you?" Matt narrowed his blue eyes at the tanned boy. Tai grinned and laughed nervously.

"Well, you see, my birthday's in a few weeks," he said casually, sending Matt an innocent grin.

"...right. I get it," the blond sighed. "To the mall then?"

"Yes please." Tai's grin grew wider and he grabbed Matt's hand again, heading in the direction of the mall. Matt followed him closely and looked at the area around him. Odaiba looked so much different in the summer than it had in the winter. All sorts of plants were in bloom and the activity level was much higher. Looking down at their adjoined hands, Matt looked back up at Tai.

"Are you sure this is okay?" he asked uncertainly, gesturing to the hands. Tai shrugged and his vision remained forward.

"I think it's okay, you don't seem to mind, end of story," he stated and looked back at him. "Besides, didn't you learn anything last year?"

"I know I know, screw what everybody else thinks," Matt grumbled under his breath. Tai nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Precisely. Oh hey look, the mall," he changed the subject, pointing to the large familiar building in front of them. "Wow, you live closer than I thought you did."

"That might not be such a bad thing though," Matt pointed out and the two boys headed inside. The mall itself was crowded with people shopping, socializing, and just plain hiding from the sun. The air-conditioners were on full-blast and many people had parked themselves on benches just to enjoy the cool air.

"Hmm, we got here on a good day," Tai noted and began weaving the two of them through the crowd.

"This is a good day?"

"Oh yeah. You should see it when the heat's really high; you can't even move because it's so packed."

"Weird." Matt wrinkled his nose and looked at the stores surrounding them. "Okay, so what were you thinking of for your birthday present?" Tai suddenly stopped and looked at him.

"You're already 16, aren't you?"

"Um...yeah. July, remember? I'm older than you are," Matt joked, but Tai didn't laugh. Instead he shook his head and let go of Matt's hand, patting his pockets for his wallet. "Tai?"

"I should be buying you a present, not the other way around!" the brunet exclaimed, producing his wallet. Frantically, he ripped it open and examined its contents. "Crap, I only have like...um...$25 in your currency. Sorry, Yama, it's gonna have to be a small present I guess." Matt shrugged and stared at him oddly.

"It's okay? Tai weren't we buying you-"

"Hush! I am buying you something okay? Oh hey, just for the record, your guitar and case are at my house," Tai interrupted, putting his wallet back into his pocket.

"Oh yeah, huh? I'll swing by and grab it when my room's more organized and stuff," Matt replied. Tai nodded and began walking through the mall again, eyeing all of the stores curiously.

"So, Yama, what do you even want for a birthday present?" he asked as he continued moving down the mall. Matt shrugged to himself and followed the other boy.

"I don't know. I'm pretty much considering being back in Japan as a birthday present to tell you the truth," he admitted. Tai grinned at him over his shoulder then.

"Aww, you're so adorable. But no really, I want to get you something. So if you don't pick, then I will," he decided.

"Then you pick." Matt shrugged again. Tai nodded and looked around thoughtfully. A wicked grin appeared on his lips and his face lit up.

"Come on," he said and grabbed Matt's hand, leading him into the nearest store on their left. The store was rather dark with low lights and colored lights glowing in various parts of it. The walls were lined with posters and clothing racks were in the middle of the room. Loud rock music blared off the walls as Tai wandered away from Matt, leaving the blond to explore on his own. Matt's eyes landed on the shelve containing various gadgets and games. He strolled over and stooped down, reading over the titles of the game boxes.

"I Never the drinking game? Man…" he said to himself, remembering how bad the marshmallow version got to be. His eyes flickered onto another game and they grew quite large at the title.

"Let's F#ck? The hell?"

"Hey, Matt! Come back here," Tai instructed him, waving to him from the back of the store. Matt scooted away from the trippy games and headed back toward Tai.

"What?" he asked as a box was thrusted into his arms. He looked down at the box and squeaked, dropping the box on the ground. "What the hell, Tai?" he squawked, kicking the veined vibrator away with his foot. Tai grinned innocently and held up another box.

"I could always buy you this one," he said, gesturing toward the ribbed vibrator in his hands.

"…uh…" Matt looked at him warily. Tai grinned and moved onto the next thing in his hand.

"Fuzzy handcuffs?" He held up a pair of pink furry lovecuffs.

"No."

"Pink-lemonade condoms?"

"Tai!"

"Ooh, lookit this!" Tai exclaimed, grabbing a box behind Matt's head. Holding it in front of Matt, he grinned coyly. "Would you consider it?" he asked, showing off the pole dancer's home kit.

"…you just want to get in my pants, don't you?"

"Is that a crime? Ooh, strawberry lube."

"Tai!"

* * *

"I can't believe you bought those lemonade condoms," Matt moaned, shaking his head in dismay. 

"**Pink**-lemonade, Yama. Pink. Besides, I bought you your posters did I not?"

"Er, well," Matt stumbled over his words. "Just…don't think you'll be using those condoms any time soon, all right?"

"Got it," Tai snickered and tucked the box back into the bag. "Anyway, where do you wanna go now?"

"Home? I need to finish unpacking anyway." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Fine, that's fair," Tai sighed. "Do you want me to help you?"

"If you want I suppose."

"Okay cool. Let's get going then," Tai suggested. Matt nodded and the two began walking slowly toward the exit. Suddenly a voice called Tai's name.

"Tai!" The brunet turned around and looked behind him. A head of silver hair was coming closer to him and he felt his heart sink slightly.

'_Oh god…please no.'_ He thought silently.

"C'mon Matt, let's hurry. Maybe if we finish soon enough, we can go do something later tonight," Tai said off-handedly, trying not to come off as jumpy.

"It's fine, Tai. There's no rush," Matt assured him.

'_Oh, that's where you're wrong, Yama. Oh so wrong.'_ Tai sighed and continued walking. He jumped slightly as a hand clasped down on his shoulder and an arm wrapped around his waist.

"Hey, didn't you hear me calling you?" Piercing aqua eyes met Tai's own brown ones, staring at him rather impatiently.

"Oh…hey, Haru. No, I guess I must have not noticed," Tai said, inching Haru's arm off of his waist. Matt stood off to the side and glanced at the arm around his boyfriend's waist, saying nothing and just waiting for the outcome.

"Hmm, sure. How have you been, babe?" the oldest boy asked, resting his chin on Tai's shoulder.

"Uh, fine…it's summer, y'know? Things are peachy," Tai replied, trying to plot an escape as he spoke. Haru nodded and tucked a lock of his silver hair behind his ear.

"Glad to hear it." An alarm went off in Haru's pocket and he reached in, looking at his cell phone. With a sigh, he shook his head sadly and tucked it away. "Well, I gotta run. Gimme a call sometime huh? We should do something," he said in a low tone, suggesting something more than just a friendly get-together.

"Ri-right," Tai stammered. Straightening up, he forced a smile onto his face and waved. "See ya, Haru."

"Bye, Beautiful," Haru replied and walked away, disappearing into the crowd in front of him. Tai released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Turning back to Matt, he noticed that his boyfriend was watching the silver-haired boy walk away until he could no longer see him. The American turned toward Tai in question, jerking his thumb in the direction that Haru had gone.

"So…who was that?" he asked, beating around the bush. Tai bit his lip and looked in that direction as well.

'_Great…my boyfriend comes back and my ex shows up. I seriously believe that somebody hates me up in the great heavens. What did I do to deserve this? Ooh, I get it! Maybe it's a sign to tell Matt about Haru and everything that happened. Yeah, that's it! Okay, I think I'll do it. Yeah…right now. Okay…ready…speak.'_

"…no one important," Tai mumbled, shaking his head slowly. Grabbing his boyfriend's elbow, he began tugging him in the direction they had been heading for in the first place. "Come on, let's go unpack like you wanted to," he said, leading the blue-eyed boy out of the mall and away from the past.

* * *

So yeah, about a month or so later, just like old times. Heh, I liked this chapter and I'm sorry it's not longer. Don't expect really long chapter 'til at least chapter six. Anyways, wee! I was amazed with the amount of reviews I got. 

So, thanks toooo: **neo**, Dreamcrafter, **Keiran**, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, **Kaiya5**, LovelyLadyLooks, **Dark-lil-devil**, Magical Nurse Pandy, **DarkMetalAngel of Destruction**, Pikke Wood, **Tifa-sama**, Demolition Lovers, **Taito-san**, Selphie1234, **Panthino**, Darkshipping, **The Kaizeress**, Sovereign of Silence3, **YugiYamiforever**, Buddha Love, **Clinton**, r e d m us h r o o m s, **makushi**, Devildelivery, **Largo-sensi**, Rikke Leonhart, **Octavo**, yoshi-iso-cute, **Tyleet27**, Tai-an-yama's-boy, **SelenaWheeler**, JohnneyAntonelli, **Megami**, Puffgirl117, **missa1**, cAnDi-SwEeT aS, I **LoVe ShInY ThInGz**, CircleKV12, **jul**, TaintedWolf, **Dreamer**, Moppy, **Kaizen**, tya, **crystal tears of betrayal**, and Scorn-Silverstar.

Okay, so I got some questions to answer.

First of all, the song Tai sang at the end of the last chapter is Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional. I like to think he's playing the real acoustic version, not the normal version on an acoustic.

As for the matter of if Ken and Daisuke are getting together…who knows?

Mmh, I think that's all, thanks for reading guys!

OH! And thanks to April for editing (like always) and go read neo's fics Headfirst for Halos and Yesterday's Feelings, the sequel to Kukachi.


	3. Inquiry

_**Man will not live without answers to his questions.**_

_**-Hans J. Morgenthau**_

* * *

"So you actually saw him?" Sora questioned as she sat on her bed, phone held up to her ear. 

"Yeah! He just walked up behind me and was all over me like nothing had ever happened!" Tai exclaimed from the other end of the line. Sora nodded to herself and rolled onto her stomach, turning on the TV and focusing on Tai's predicament.

"What'd you do about it?"

"Nothing! I couldn't really say 'Hey Haru, I still hate you so go away!' when Yama was standing right there."

"What'd Matt say about it?" the redhead raised an eyebrow, turning down the volume on the TV to listen to the boy.

"Nothing really. He just asked me who he was and left it at that."

"Did you tell him who he was?" Sora asked. She heard Tai snort in disgust and could visualize the brunet rolling his eyes.

"Are you kidding? Of course not!" he shouted.

"Why not?"

"Because then I'd have to answer all of those questions I don't want to answer right now," Tai explained. "Knowing Matt, I'd get the entire drill. 'Who is he? How long did you guys date? How far did you go with him? Are you sure that the entire relationship is over?' Honestly, I don't feel like answering those at the present time."

"Tai, you're going to have to answer them sometime," Sora pointed out with a small sigh.

"I know, but I'm not sure if I even want to tell him so soon."

"Soon? Tai, technically speaking, you guys have been together since February and you've been friends since October."

"Not really friends, per say."

"Tai…"

"Okay I get what you're saying," Tai cut her off again. "But seriously Sor, I don't want to talk to him about it right now."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know if Yama realizes I'm not a virgin!" the brunet shouted. Sora's eyes widened and she stared at the phone.

"…seriously?"

"Yeah! And if he does find out before I have time to explain what happened, he might get the wrong idea and get mad at me," Tai sighed. Sora rolled her eyes at her friend's logic.

"Tai, don't you think that if you told Matt what happened, he wouldn't get angry and he's like…sympathize with you?"

"Yeah, of course."

"So…?"

"So what?"

"Why don't you just tell him?" she suggested. She heard the mud-eyed boy sigh again and waited.

"Because I don't think I'm ready to say it out loud, that's why," he explained quietly. Sora sat still for a moment, a sudden sense of sympathy taking over.

"Tai…it's okay. It wasn't your fault remember?" she said slowly.

"Yeah I know, but that doesn't make it any easier to say, Sora," Tai argued. "Besides, it kinda was my fault."

"…how do you figure?"

"Well think about it. If I hadn't gotten involved with him to begin with, I wouldn't have been kissing him and stuff and nothing would have led up to it."

"Tai, that still doesn't explain how it was your fault."

"It just was, okay?"

"Stop it."

"Sora, it's okay, really. It was my fault, so I deserved it."

"Stop it, Taichi!" the redhead finally shouted, sending her childhood friend into silence. "Look, it was **not** your fault! Haru was just a big jerk who ra-"

"Don't say it."

"Tai, you need to get it through your head! You were not guilty for this. Look, say it out loud. Getting raped was not my fault."

"Sora…"

"Say it!"

"Okay, fine! Getting raped was not my fault! Are you satisfied now? Does it make you feel better to know that I'm lying not only to you but to myself?" the brunet ranted. Sora sighed loudly and went quiet for a moment. Tai continued to rant until he realized that Sora was silent. "Sor?"

"I don't know what I have to do to get you to believe that none of this was your fault," she said to him.

"Look, just admit that it was my fault and we can drop the entire subject," Tai argued back.

"Tai, it's not your-" Sora stopped herself abruptly. "No you know what? I don't think I can just drop the entire thing. It's not like you skinned your knee falling out of a tree. This is like, major!" Tai groaned loudly and Sora could imagine the brunet rolling his eyes again.

"Sora, calm down. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that **you **were the one who got raped, not me," he lightly joked, hoping to steer the redhead away from the topic.

"Yeah well, one of us has to have some sort of reaction to it. You're acting like it doesn't even bother you!"

"Well maybe it doesn't okay? Maybe I just accepted the fact like I said before. Look, it's not a big deal."

"You know what? I don't think I can talk to you right now when you're being so stubborn about this, so I'm going to hang up on you until you get it through your head that it wasn't your fault," Sora said flatly, glaring at her wall in frustration.

"Kay, talk to you later then," Tai replied casually and hung up before Sora could get in another word, tossing the phone on the bed. He knew that he probably angered the redhead even more but that wasn't his main concern at the moment. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling and staying quiet. He could hear pop music coming from Kari's room down the hall and Daisuke's voice from downstairs as he and Ken headed upstairs. He suddenly sat up and pushed himself off of the bed, crossing the room swiftly and heading out into the hallway.

He needed to speak to Kari, now.

He knocked on her door lightly and opened it without waiting for an answer. Luckily for him, his sister was merely sitting at her computer, typing to her friends online. Kari looked up briefly and spotted Tai, smiling at her brother.

"Hey," she greeted him, turning her attention back to the computer. Tai entered the room and closed the door behind him, crossing the floor and sitting on his sister's bed, moving aside a few of her stuffed animals and holding a pink and white tiger in his hands. He stayed silent for a moment or two, gathering his thoughts and toying with the tiger in his hands.

"Kar, can I ask you something?" Kari stopped typing briefly and looked back at her brother, taking note of his somber expression. She quickly typed a "be right back" to each person she was chatting with and turned around again, giving her brother her full attention.

"Of course you can. What's up?" she questioned, leaning her elbows on her knees and watching Tai closely. The older brunet continued toying with the tiger plushie, avoiding Kari's stare.

"Okay so…I think I have a problem…and I'm not sure what to do about this problem."

"What's the problem?"

"Um…well," Tai started off, obviously trying to stall for just a little longer. "Hey, did TK give you this? Because really, it looks like a TK thing." He indicated the tiger in his hands.

"Tai," Kari spoke in a warning tone. "What's the problem?" Tai sighed heavily and leaned back against the wall.

"Okay so, Matt and I went to the mall today right?"

"Right…"

"Well, we were hunting around for a birthday present for him and we were just about to leave and…well, to sum it up, we ran into Haru who's acting like nothing horrible ever happened between the two of us," Tai ranted out, closing his eyes and folding his hands in his lap. "He even went as far as touching me and he called me beautiful."

"…wait, Tai, what kind of touching?" Kari asked suspiciously, slightly worried by the outcome.

"Oh! No, nothing like that," Tai answered quickly, attempting to sway Kari away from the wrong idea. "Just a hand on my shoulder, an arm around my waist, and then his chin replaced his hand on my shoulder. Matt's really suspicious though."

"What'd you tell him?"

Tai bit his lip and continued playing with his fingers in his lap. "That it was nobody important," he mumbled out, causing Kari's eyebrows to rise up in alarm.

"You told him **what?**" Kari shouted, staring at her brother in shock.

"Kari I choked! Okay, I was going to tell Yama who Haru **really** was, I swear, but I just couldn't!"

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want anything fucking up our relationship and I think Yama finding out about Haru would fuck everything up beyond possible belief," Tai explained, opening his eyes.

"Tai, didn't we already go over this once?" Kari interjected, scuffing her toe against the ground.

"Yeah, probably. But I mean, Yama doesn't have to know everything does he?"

"He should know."

"Nah, then he'll just know that I was a reckless dumbshit." Tai shrugged carelessly. Kari's eyes flickered up to meet Tai's and she frowned slightly.

"Tai…everything that happened between you and Haru wasn't your fault," she started in before Tai groaned loudly.

"Not you too! Man, Sora told me the same thing like five minutes ago!"

"That's because it's true!" Kari shouted back, glaring intently at her brother. "I don't know why you don't want to believe us."

"Because I already told you, if I hadn't been reckless and even started fooling around with Haru, none of it would have happened."

"Tai, none of us knew that Haru was going to do what he did to you."

"Yeah well…" Tai trailed off, unsure of what argument he had now. Kari gave him a knowing look and leaned back in her chair, allowing her expression to soften.

"Well?" she prodded, interested in what she had to say.

"Maybe it wasn't rape. Maybe I wanted it."

"No Tai, you're not going there. You told me and Sora and Daisuke that you didn't want it, therefore, it could be charged as a rape."

"Well maybe I changed my mind," Tai argued back, starting to get a little angered now.

"You can't change your mind about a rape!" Kari exclaimed, beginning to get frustrated herself.

"Watch me."

"Tai, you can't keep denying that Haru hurt you both emotionally and physically. It's not a healthy habit." By then Tai had already rose from the bed and was heading for the door.

"Kari, it's not a big deal, really," he insisted. "Look, I'm sorry I even brought it up. That's why I haven't brought it up to Matt yet either."

"Because you don't want people being concerned about you?"

"Because I don't want everybody turning it into such a big deal. It was the past, get over it. I did and I'm doing just fine," the older Yagami sibling insisted as he opened the door.

"But Tai-"

"I'm going downstairs to play with the Playstation," he retorted, ignoring his little sister's feeble attempts to keep his attention and shutting the door behind him. Kari closed her eyes and sighed loudly, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Obviously he's not fine…and he's the only one who can't see it," she mumbled to herself, turning back to her computer and resuming her previous activities.

* * *

Matt was suspicious. He had every right to be suspicious though; after all, it wasn't every day that you went out with your boyfriend only to watch him get hit on by another boy. 

Another **pretty** boy, in fact.

Therefore, Matt felt that it was time to start investigating. He came to that decision after the events of the previous day at the mall. Something was up and Matt didn't like not knowing; he needed to find out just what Tai was trying to hide from him. After all, he didn't seem too comfortable with the fact that Matt was standing right there. That had to mean something, didn't it? With that in mind, Matt sat up from his bed and reached over to his bedside table, grabbing a hold of the cordless phone that was laying there. Taking a quick glance at the clock, he noted that Tai would be at work right now.

Perfect time to call his house.

Punching in the number for the Yagami-Motomiya household, Matt held the phone to his ear and waited patiently, praying that the right person would answer.

"Hello?"

Perfect.

"Hey, Kari," Matt greeted her, leaning back against his headboard.

"Oh, hi Matt. What's up?" the younger girl questioned, sounding a bit surprised. "Tai's not here, he's working."

"Oh, I know, I was just wondering-" he stopped suddenly, pausing to think his plan through. What if Kari didn't want to rat her brother out? What if she didn't even know? Then what would he do?

"Just wondering…?" Kari pressed on, her curiosity growing more by the moment.

'_Okay, we've got to have a back-up plan in case Kari doesn't spill. But what? Who else would know about what's going on other than Tai and Kari? Who else would have been around as mu-…Sora! Sora would know! But I don't have Sora's number.'_ He pondered silently, chewing on his lip in thought.

"Matt?"

'_Bingo.'_

"Oh, sorry, I had to go grab something from TK," he lied really quick. "Anyway, I was just wondering if you had Sora's number. I wanted to ask her something really quick."

"Oh, yeah sure. Ready to write it down?"

"Yep." Matt grabbed a piece of paper from his bedside table and uncapped a pen, eagerly awaiting the numbers.

"654-7313. That's her cell phone number," Kari explained as Matt scrawled down the numbers.

"Okay great, thanks. Oh, I have one more question for you though," he asked, throwing the pen across the room.

"What's that?"

"Has your brother been seeing anybody over the summer?"

Here Kari paused, allowing her mind to mull over what Matt was asking her. "No…he's been sitting here waiting for you. Why do you ask?"

"Uh, no reason really. Are you sure he's not like, hiding anything from me?" Matt questioned again, confused by Kari's hesitance.

"Matt, I don't know if I should really be telling you anything. After all, I don't know what Tai's told you so-"

"So it's possible that he's hiding something?" Matt cut her off, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't think-"

"Kari, please?"

"Matt, it's not my place to tell you, but honestly, I think if Tai had something to say, he'd tell you on his own," Kari grounded out, relieved to finally get a sentence out. Matt huffed quietly and contemplated his options, picking his words carefully.

"Okay, thanks. I'll talk to you later then; oh, and my brother said that he's picking you up for your date tonight at 6:30."

"Okay but Matt, don't try to pressure Tai into answeri-"

"Bye Kari!" Matt cut her off again and hung up. He now knew that Kari and Tai knew something that he didn't; that made him slightly nervous but even more curious than before. He glanced down at the piece of paper in his lap, reading over the numbers carefully and lifting the phone once more, dialing Sora's cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Sora, hi," he said in relief, glad that Kari gave him the right number. "It's Matt," he added quickly.

"Oh. Hi Matt, what's up?" Sora jogged off of the tennis court and sat on a bench nearby, waiting for Matt to continue.

"Nothing…but I have a favor to ask of you."

'_Talk about déjà vu.'_ Matt thought to himself as he fidgeted on his bed.

"What favor?" Sora asked, trying not to let her own suspicions rise.

"I need you to tell me something about Tai."

"…about…Tai?" she repeated, blinking in surprise.

'_Oh boy. Bet I know what this one's all about.' _She inwardly sighed, preparing herself for a long interrogation.

"Can I trust you? To tell me the truth I mean," Matt added hurriedly, hoping Sora wasn't getting the wrong idea.

"I…suppose so. Depends on what you're asking me; some of your questions you might have to just ask Tai himself."

"Okay well…first, I'm going to tell you something."

"Shoot."

"Okay so, yesterday, Tai and I were at the mall and just as we were leaving, this guy comes up to us and totally starts hitting on Tai like I wasn't even standing there!"

"Uh-huh…" Sora nodded, waiting for Matt to continue.

'_Great, he's going to be asking _**me**_ about Haru! Ugh, what do I tell him, that the bastard raped his boyfriend? I can't do that! …but I _**can**_ give him a little bit of a heads-up.'_ She smiled suddenly and realized that Matt was finishing his story.

"And when I asked Tai who he was, he said nobody! Now don't get me wrong, I totally trust Tai but really, I doubt that the pretty boy was 'nobody'. So what I want to know is, can you tell me who he was, er, is?" the blond boy stumbled over his words while Sora attempted to gather hers, thinking of a way to lead Matt into reality gently.

'_Okay, I can just say that he's Tai's ex and that they're over and stuff and Tai can fill in the details. But what if Tai gets mad at me? Better yet, what if they both get mad at me? Ah man, why do I always get the hard job?'_ She sighed heavily and took a sip from her water bottle.

"Okay well, as a matter of fact, yes, I can tell you who that is. I just don't know if **I** should be the one to tell you. After all, it really is Tai's story to tell."

"Yeah, but in case you haven't noticed, Tai's not telling me anything. That's why I'm resorting to asking you," Matt pointed out, eyes narrowing suddenly. "Sora, please stop stalling and just tell me what you know!"

"…okay look. His name is Haru and he's Tai's ex boyfriend. They broke up about four months before you and Tai met. Actually no…they broke up broke up in February…Tai just stopped talking to him at the beginning of last summer," Sora explained, practically hearing the wheels turning in Matt's head.

"So…why'd they break up?"

'_That, I can't tell you.'_

"They just realized that they were different than they used to be and they broke up."

"Who dumped who?" Matt continued with the questions.

"Haru dumped Tai."

"How long did they date?"

"Um…well, I think it was for a while. From this time last year to January, so…six months? Tai met him in May or so of last year."

"Are they completely over?"

"Of course they are! That's why Tai's with you now," Sora retorted.

"Yeah but then what was Haru doing hanging on Tai like that?" Matt questioned, already coming to the conclusion that he needed to ask Tai about it rather than his friends.

"Who knows. Hey listen, Mattie, I gotta go, my tennis partner wants to continue our match. I'll talk to you later though if you want more answers though okay?"

"Right, okay. Thanks Sora," he answered rather hollowly, barely hearing her rushed goodbye before he hung up the phone, looking up at his ceiling.

He was back to square one, but at least now he had more paths to follow to make it to square two, wherever that was. He now knew that Pretty Boy was Tai's ex and that apparently, the ex wasn't quite over Tai yet.

"Six months though? Why didn't Tai tell me that when I asked him? What the hell is going on?" he pondered to himself, glaring up at the ceiling. "Why wouldn't Tai just tell me all of this and get it over with? What's so horribly hard about saying 'Yama, that's my ex but I love you more'? Damn." He swung his legs over the edge of his bed and stood up, slipping on his shoes and heading out of his room, padding down the hall. Without warning, he opened the door to TK's room and stuck his head in the door, looking right at his younger brother.

"Hey, I'm going to the Yagamis' house. Wanna come?"

* * *

"Hey Ken, is it okay if Kiseki comes to the movies with us?" Ken looked up from the task of tying his shoes and met Daisuke's eyes. 

"Oh. Uh, I guess it doesn't matter. If he really wants to come, that's fine," the older boy replied, standing up from his position on the floor.

"Okay good because-" Daisuke was cut off by the doorbell from the main floor. "Well, that's him. You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go," Ken replied and headed out of Daisuke's room, lightly jogging down the stairs with Daisuke barreling after him. The excitable brunet got to the door first and flung it open, positively beaming at the black-haired boy on the other side.

"Hey 'Seki, ready to go?" Daisuke greeted his other friend as he stepped out to join him on the porch.

"Yep, are you guys?"

"About as ready as we can be to go see a movie," Ken answered as he also joined the other boy on the porch, closing the front door behind him. Daisuke bounced off of the porch and began leading the two older boys down the sidewalk at a quick pace.

"You guys are going to **love** this movie, I swear! Well I mean, I know Kiseki will because he's totally into the whole gore scene. Besides, it's also got a mystery tied into it that you try to figure out and since Ken wants to be a detective when he grows up, I thought it'd be a good movie," the younger boy explained.

"You still want to be a detective?" Kiseki asked before he could stop himself. Lucky for Ken, Daisuke was too busy giving Kiseki an odd stare to notice the panicked look on his own face.

"I wasn't aware that you already knew," Daisuke said slowly, raising an eyebrow at the black-haired boy.

"Well I mean, Ken told me yesterday when you were upstairs tending to Kari's yelling," Kiseki quickly covered, sending Ken his own look that clearly said 'I've got it covered.' Daisuke looked over his two friends warily for a brief moment before simply shrugging his shoulders and continuing on his way.

"Well that's cool." He nodded and stopped in front of the movie theatre, walking into the lobby. "Why don't you guys give me the money for your tickets and go buy snacks while I do that?"

"Yeah, sounds great!" Kiseki agreed almost too quickly and not only reached into his pocket but Ken's as well, grabbing a fistful of bills and shoving them into Daisuke's hand. "We'll meet you by the door to go into the movie!"

"O…kay?" Daisuke replied unsurely, watching his best friend be all but dragged across the lobby by his ex boyfriend. Without another thought, he jumped into line to buy the tickets.

Meanwhile, Kiseki kept a firm grip on Ken's wrist, continuing to pull him along. As soon as they reached their destination though, Ken yanked his arm away and stared at Kiseki in disbelief.

"Way to almost blow our cover, 'Seki!" he all but shouted, glaring at the other boy.

"I couldn't help it! It just kinda…slipped out!" Kiseki argued at the two moved closer to the snack counter.

"Yeah well now thanks to that, Daisuke's suspicious about what's going on," Ken groaned as he fished into his pockets for some more money.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that we **have** to tell him," Kiseki pointed out, also looking for his money.

"Don't you think we should though? Just so he doesn't think it's a little weird?"

"Probably. It wouldn't cause much harm, would it?"

"Maybe, I don't know. Daisuke's kind of a tricky person to figure out. He could either a.) be totally cool with it or b.) blow up and kill us both. Are we willing to take that risk?" Ken gave Kiseki a questioning look.

"Um…"

"Exactly. So maybe we should just wait to see what happens, gently lead him into it."

"I still don't see what the problem is," Kiseki said flatly, turning to the girl at the counter and briefly pausing their argument. "Hi can I get a small popcorn, a medium Pepsi, a box of Sour Patch Kids and," he stopped to look back at Ken. "What'd you and Daisuke want?"

"Medium popcorn, medium Pepsi, and a large Mountain Dew."

"Jeezes, who's the Dew for?"

"Dai. Every time we went to the movies, that's what we would order. He would end up eating most of the popcorn though…and now that I think of that, maybe we should make that a large popcorn." Ken handed Kiseki the right amount of money and the other boy placed it on the counter for the girl working, taking the food and drinks from her, motioning for Ken to do the same. The two began walking away from the counter and headed toward the ticket boy where they knew Daisuke would be waiting.

"So…what are we going to do?" Kiseki brought up their original point.

"I already told you what I thought we should do."

"Yeah, but your idea stinks."

"Hey!"

"Think about it, Kenny," Kiseki cut him off, pretending that Ken wasn't glowering at the nickname. "If we just bite the bullet and tell Daisuke, he'll appreciate it rather than bite our faces off. Especially since we told him sooner than later ya know?"

"…I guess you're right," Ken sighed in defeat. "But if he does get mad, I'm blaming you entirely."

"Not a problem!" Kiseki grinned cheekily and stopped talking as they approached Daisuke who was holding three tickets.

"Sweet, you remembered!" the mahogany-haired boy exclaimed to Ken as he reached out to take the Mountain Dew.

"Well of course I did," Ken replied and shifted the popcorn in his arms. "Got the tickets?"

"Yep!" Daisuke handed the other two their tickets and gave his to the ticket boy. "C'mon." The other two followed in suit as Daisuke led them down to the other end of the theatre, stopping in front of a door. Ken peered up at the sign above the door and read it aloud.

"Saw?"

"Daisuke, you **really** want to watch Saw?" Kiseki inquired, glancing at the younger boy unsurely.

"Yes." The tanned boy marched into the theatre, leading his two friends up to the top and settling down in a seat, leaving Ken to sit on one side and Kiseki to sit on the other. The two older boys looked over the top of Daisuke's head at each other with worried glances.

"How did you even get us in here, Dai? The movie's rated R," Ken pointed out, munching on some of his popcorn.

"Just paid extra for the tickets. They don't really care," Daisuke replied and also grabbed some popcorn, taking the bucket from Ken's lap and moving it into his own. "Besides, you're acting like this movie's really that scary," he chided and continued eating his popcorn as the lights went down and the previews started rolling.

"Okay, Daisuke, if you say so," Kiseki replied and settled back in his seat, pretending not to notice that Ken had draped his arm behind Daisuke and that his finger was jabbing into Kiseki's shoulder.

* * *

By the time the movie was over, Ken realized that (much to his dismay) Kiseki was right; they needed to tell Daisuke about them no matter what, just in case they slipped again. The lights in the theatre came on and he stood up, waiting for Daisuke and Kiseki to do the same. The three boys headed out of the singular theatre and into the lobby, blinking at the bright light. 

"That wasn't too bad," Kiseki spoke first, throwing away his trash and slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, I liked it," Daisuke nodded earnestly as he finished up his Mountain Dew. "What'd you think, Ken?"

"It was interesting, trying to figure out Jigsaw's motives and stuff. I liked it. Reminded me of another movie though." Ken chewed on the straw of his soda as the trio headed outside to start heading home.

"What movie?" Daisuke asked curiously as he wedged his way between Kiseki and Ken.

"This movie that was made like, ten years ago. It's called Seven."

"Oh!" Kiseki exclaimed, bouncing suddenly. "Isn't that the one that we watched at your house that one night that your parents left Osamu to babysit us and we ended up hiding under his bed? Damn, that was when we were like, 11!"

"Kiseki!" Ken shouted, eyes widening in shock along with Daisuke's. The mahogany-haired boy stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked at his two friends closely.

"Wait, wait, wait…when you were 11?" he slowly repeated, clearly waiting for an explanation. Ken shifted nervously and Kiseki grinned broadly, although it was apparent that he was apprehensive too.

"Okay Dai…we kinda have something we need to talk about," Ken started out slowly before Kiseki jumped in.

"Daisuke, remember when I said that the Niwas sent me to the Academy because I was gay and found out about my boyfriend?"

"…uh…huh…" Daisuke nodded slowly.

"Well…meet my ex, Ken Ichijouji." Kiseki grinned awkwardly while Ken rolled his eyes.

"So basically, we've known each other for a while and I just never got around to telling you," Ken added.

"And I didn't drop a name because I never thought you would know him," Kiseki quickly said. Daisuke blinked once, twice, and shook his head, staring at the other two in disbelief.

"I can't believe you two didn't tell me!" The two boys winced, expecting the worst. "That would have made everything so un-awkward!" Daisuke laughed and began walking again, sipping on his drink.

"Wait what?" Ken blinked, hurrying to catch up to Daisuke.

"What, did you think I was going to be mad or something? C'mon, Ken, I thought you would know me better than that," Daisuke teased as he looked forward. Kiseki glanced over at Ken this time and glared, promptly blowing a raspberry at the other boy.

"See! I told you he wouldn't get mad!" he exclaimed as the three re-approached the Yagami-Motomiya house, walking inside and closing the door.

"Well you never know!"

"I thought you were a genius though."

"Shut up."

It was about that time that the doorbell rang again, causing the three boys to stop in their tracks. Daisuke looked at his companions and shooed them away.

"Just go to the den, I'll join you in a second," he assured them and headed back toward the door, opening it just as Ken and Kiseki disappeared, still bickering.

"Oh, hey Matt," Daisuke greeted the taller blond boy, stepping out of the way so that Matt could enter the house.

"Hey Dais, is your brother home?"

"He should be. Check upstairs in his room," Daisuke suggested and shut the door. "Oh and for the record, you don't need to ring the doorbell, just walk on in next time," he added and walked away, heading toward the den where Matt could hear two other voices. Shaking his head, Matt began his ascent of the stairs, making his way to the second floor of the house and stopping in front of Tai's door.

He may not have to ring the door bell but he should at least knock on the bedroom door.

"It's open," Tai called out shortly after Matt knocked. The blue-eyed boy pushed the door open and stepped inside, finding Tai on his bed watching a small TV. The brunet turned his gaze from the screen and smiled upon seeing Matt.

"Hey Yama," he greeted his boyfriend and sat up, keeping his eyes on the American boy.

"Tai, who's Haru?" Matt bit the bullet, trying to keep his expression as neutral as possible. Tai, on the other hand, didn't bother to hide his surprise by the question.

"What?"

"Who's Haru?" the blond repeated, standing his ground. Tai heaved a sigh and turned off the TV, giving Matt his full attention.

"Who told you about Haru?" he countered with his own question.

"Sora. She said that he's your ex."

"And she's right."

"What?" Matt blinked, expecting more of an elaborate answer.

"Haru's my ex, just like Sora said. I don't get why you're asking me if you already knew," Tai said calmly, already plotting ways on killing Sora without anybody noticing.

"…that's all?"

"Yes."

"You dated for six months?"

"…yes."

"And he dumped you?"

"Gee, sounds like Sora gave you plenty of information," Tai said dryly, leaning his chin in the palm of his hand.

"That's not the point, Tai!" Matt shouted, refusing to back down now.

"So what **is** the point, Yamato? What exactly is the point of questioning me about stuff you already know?" Tai argued back.

"I want to know why **you** didn't tell me! I want to know why **Kari** couldn't even tell me!"

"You asked my sister too! What the hell, Matt?"

"Tai, all I wanted to know was why some strange guy was hanging all over you yesterday and you didn't do anything about it. That's it."

"Uh hello! Did you not see that I was trying to get his arm off of my waist?"

"Tai, you could have just opened your mouth and told him to go away."

'_Yeah, easy for you to say.'_ Tai all but snorted.

"I know, I didn't know how to react. I'm sorry," he apologized with large puppy eyes, looking up at Matt. "If it helps, I don't love him anymore. He's pretty much nothing and you're my everything, kay?"

Matt blinked at the choice of wording, tilting his head to the side. "Really?"

"Really, really." Tai smiled brightly. Matt pondered for a moment, folding his arms over his chest.

"You promise?"

"Of course I do. What's the matter, you don't trust me anymore?"

"No, that's not it…" Matt trailed off.

'_It's everybody else that I don't trust.'_ He mentally added.

"…c'mere," Tai said gently, reaching out and grabbing onto one of Matt's arms, pulling him down onto the bed with him. Matt reluctantly settled down next to Tai but didn't fight off his boyfriend as he cuddled against him. "Listen, Haru and I are over and I love you more than enough to convince me to stay away from him all right? You're worrying about nothing."

"You really think I am?"

"Yep. Nothing's going to come between us. Haru's history," Tai reassured him, lightly pressing a chaste kiss to Matt's lips. "I can assure you of that."

"…okay. I guess, if you say so."

"I do. Trust me, everything between me and Haru is history." Tai suddenly pulled away and climbed off of the bed, extending his hand to Matt. "I'm suddenly in the mood for ice cream. You in?"

"…yeah. Here?"

"Downtown. I'll buy."

"…yeah, sounds good." Matt grinned and grabbed Tai's hand, walking out of the room with him. It didn't matter what Haru and Tai **used** to be; all that mattered was what he and Tai were **now**, right?

As long as he had Tai like he did now, happily chattering about…something and holding his hand tightly, it didn't matter what Haru did. Matt had Tai; Haru didn't.

Matt was pretty sure that he was the victorious one in the picture.

* * *

The next week or so passed right by for Tai as his birthday drew nearer. The days seemed to bleed into each other as he continued counting down until the 22nd. Finally the big day came. The brunet opened his eyes and glanced at the clock, noting that it was nearly ten in the morning. A small grin spread across his face as he sat up, jumping out of bed and slipping on his pajama bottoms that were on the floor. Daisuke wasn't in the room with him, he noted. Slipping on a dirty shirt from the floor, he thundered down the stairs in attempts to find his family. 

"Hello?" he called out.

"Hello!" Kari called back from in the kitchen. Tai skidded to a halt and turned, walking into the kitchen and finding his younger sister pouring two bowls of cereal.

"Hey Kar," Tai greeted her, grabbing his own bowl.

"Hello Mr. Sixteen," Kari responded, giggling slightly at the dopey grin on Tai's face. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks! Where's Mom, work?" Tai asked as he took the box of Frosted Flakes from Kari's hand, pouring himself a large bowl.

"Yes. And I already know what your next question is and no, you can't have your presents. Mom said to hide them from you until she gets home, which is at like, 5:30." Kari grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator and poured some into the two bowls in front of her.

"Ah man, are you kidding me! That's like, forever from now!"

"Yeah well, she's bringing home your cake too. In the meantime, you can watch cartoons with Daisuke and I," Kari offered, picking up the two bowls of cereal and grabbing two spoons, making her way back toward the den. Tai poured milk into his own bowl and grabbed a spoon, following his sister down into the den where Daisuke was already curled up on the couch, watching The Suite Life of Zach and Cody.

"Here, Dai." Kari handed Daisuke his breakfast and settled in on the other end of the couch.

"Thanks." The youngest Yagami-Motomiya sibling turned his head to look at Tai. "Hey, happy birthday!"

"Thanks," Tai replied and curled up in the chair next to the couch. He chewed on a spoonful of cereal briefly, casting Daisuke a curious look. "Say Dai, you wouldn't happen to know where my-"

"No Tai," Daisuke cut him off. "You have to wait until Mom gets home."

"Man, you guys are no fun!" Tai sulked, continued to eat his cereal.

"Well we're more worried about Mom killing us than being fun, right Daisuke?" Kari said, turning up the volume on the TV.

"Totally," Daisuke agreed around his cereal. Tai stared at the TV blankly, mindlessly eating his cereal.

"You guys suck," he said after some time, standing up from his chair.

"But you love us!" Kari gave him a wide grin.

"Yeah, I know. Sad huh?" Tai returned the smile and headed for the stairs. "I'm gonna go shower."

"Kay." Daisuke nodded, never taking his eyes off of the screen. Tai jogged up the stairs to the main floor, first stopping in the kitchen to put his bowl in the sink and take his medication.

'_Hmm, almost out. I have to ask Mom to grab some more next time she's in town.'_ He noted, setting the bottle back in the cabinet and grabbing a glass of water, swallowing the pills quickly. He left the kitchen and jogged up the stairs, returning to his bedroom and opening his closet, grabbing a clean shirt. He turned to the dresser and pulled out his khaki shorts and a clean pair of boxers, slamming the drawer shut and heading into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and turning on the shower water.

By the time Tai finished his shower and morning routine, it was nearly 11 o'clock. He had just gone down the stairs in search of his younger siblings when the doorbell rang. Changing his direction, Tai headed for the door and opened it, instantly regretting it.

"Oh…hi Haru," he said, truly surprised to see the older boy standing on his doorstep. Haru smiled suavely and leaned against the doorframe.

"Happy birthday, Taichi," Haru replied, watching the brunet closely. "So close to being legal huh?"

"Er, yeah, I guess so." Tai's eyes darted left and right as his brain racked for an excuse to shoo the other boy away.

"Anyway, I just came by to see you and give you your present." Haru's eyes narrowed coolly as he reached into his pocket, aqua gaze never leaving Tai's muddy one.

"You got me a present?" The tanned boy raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I did, Taichi babe. It's your sweet 16, it only happens once," Haru explained as he pulled something out of his pocket, thrusting it into Tai's hand.

"Uh, Haru?"

"Just look at it." And so he did. Tai found himself holding onto what he assumed was supposed to be a rose made out of two condoms. "Up for a go?"

"What the **fuck**, Haru!" Tai shouted, throwing the condoms back at Haru. "Are you insane, I thought we were over!"

"Depends on your definition of over," Haru retaliated.

"…I have a boyfriend."

"So? I had a girlfriend the same time I was fooling around with you. What's your point?"

"Haru, just stop! Okay, this is not going to happen!" Tai exclaimed, fully prepared to slam the door in the silver-haired boy's face. However, Haru's hand stopped the door from closing.

"Oh come on, Taichi. It'll all be okay," Haru purred, leaning forward so that their noses were brushing.

"Haru…stop."

"It'll be our little secret," the older male whispered, closing that small space between the two of them and pressing his lips to Tai's, kissing him hard. Tai let out a muffled yelp as he attempted to push Haru away, only succeeding in the boy pushing his weight on top of him. Haru slowly pulled away and licked his lips, smiling satisfactory.

"Think about it," he said coyly with a quick wink, turning and walking away. Tai continued to look at his feet, trying to catch his breath. He finally regained the courage to look up.

"Matt!" He shouldn't have looked up. The blond boy stood a few feet away from Haru just was, staring at Tai in disgust, anger, and disappointment. "Wait a sec, that wasn't what you think, okay?"

"Save it, Tai. I get it," Matt cut him off, walking closer to his boyfriend.

"But-" Matt shoved a box into his hand and stepped away.

"Just wanted to drop by and say Happy Birthday," he said, albeit choked.

"Yama," Tai tried again but Matt merely shrugged, turning on his heel and walking back in the direction he came from. Tai held the box limply in his hand, staring at the velvety little container. He closed the door then, standing inside the foyer with his back to it, simply trying to gather his thoughts. Soon he pried the box open gently, peering inside and spotting a hemp necklace decorated with cream and dark brown beads curled up along with a small little note.

'_To replace the necklace you always wear. It's beginning to look a little old. I love you so much. Happy 16th. _

–_Matt.'_

"Ah shit…" Tai groaned, slamming his head back against the door. "Shit, shit, shit," he repeated, hitting his head with each word. "So much for not fucking up our relationship." He moved away from the door, heading toward the front closet to slip on a pair of flipflops.

"Kari, I'm going to Sora's!" he shouted over his shoulder, opening the door and closing it before Kari could answer. He stepped out onto the sidewalk, hands flying up to his neck and unlatching the old pooka shell necklace, staring at it darkly.

"I hate you. I hate you so much right now," he muttered, shoving the necklace into his pocket and picking up the hemp necklace. "And you…I'm so sorry," he said quietly, fastening it to his neck tightly in hopes that it would knock the lump in his throat loose.

* * *

...eheheh, hi guys. Been a while, huh? I'm **so** sorry, I got so busy with school (senior year, go figure. All sorts of preperations for graduation) and of course, dance. Then I got on my Kingdom Hearts trip but we won't get into that.Not only that, my Taichi muse left. Yep. I told him that he could have a vacation since he helped me with Black and the first two chapters non-stop.

I just found him last week, in California no less. Disneyland if you want specifics, but I'm sure you don't. Anyway, thank you guys for bearing with me and being so patient (and some..not so patient. You know who you are -wink-). Anyway, it's up, it's here, and hopefully will be updated more frequently now.

Thanks to: neo-chan (wow, when did you change the funky letters?), **ClintonBradford**, Mimi-102, **DarkMetalAngel of Destruction**, Tai-an-yama's-boy, **Lord Sylak**, Dark-lil-devil, **Tyleet27**, Dreamcrafter, **Devildelivery**, Sovereign of Silence3, **Kaiya5**, Coldplayer, **Emu**, JohnneyAntonelli, **Scorn-Silverstar**, The Kaizeress, **born a dreamer**, r e d m u s h r o o m s, **Angel Born of Darkness**, Pikke Wood,** CircleKV12**, Largo-sensei, **WRXgurl**, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, **Kaizen**, missa1, **Puffgirl117,** SelenaWheeler, **inoku**, Kearia Hikari, **fluffys-sidekick**, Autum Otnorot, **Yamato-Taichi-4ever**, TaitoLove, **husShh**, and blitzdragon. You guys rock so hard and I appreciate every single review I've received from you.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please don't kill/fire me. I need to finish the story, just remember that!

Love you all, Ty.


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